The Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) share price was out of form in November.
During the month, the online travel agent's shares lost 13.5% of their value.
Unfortunately, this has wiped out almost all the gains the Webjet share price had made in 2021.
What happened to the Webjet share price in November?
As with many travel shares, concerns about COVID-19 weighed heavily on the Webjet share price in November.
Early on in the month, a surge in cases in Europe led to countries threatening to lock down again, and in some cases actually doing so. This sparked fears that the travel recovery could be derailed just as things were starting to look positive again.
And then kicking the Webjet share price while it was down, was the emergence of the Omicron variant late on in the month. This quickly dampened any positivity from the release of a reasonably solid half year result from Webjet just a few days earlier.
While very little is known about the variant at this point, investors have been quick to exit positions in case this undoes all of the company's hard work this year. At the same time, short sellers have been loading up, making the company's shares one of the most shorted on the ASX.
Is this a buying opportunity?
While it is worth remembering that things could change rapidly if the COVID situation deteriorates, the team at Morgans is bullish on Webjet.
Last week the broker upgraded the company's shares to an add rating with a $6.60 price target. Based on the current Webjet share price, this implies potential upside of 24% for investors over the next 12 months.
Morgans commented: "WEB is targeting to return to pre-COVID booking levels in the 2H23. Management continues to maintain its aspirational market share targets and wants to reduce the company's cost base by 20% when it returns to scale. This means that WEB should be materially more profitable post COVID."
