Last month was a good one for the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price.
It was also a good period for the travel sector that saw Australia's borders opened for the first time since March 2020.
After ending January at $16.54, the Flight Centre share price gained 6.17% to close the final session of February $17.56.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) grew just 1.1% in that time.
Let's take a look at what helped boost the travel stock last month.
Image source: Getty Images
Here's what boosted the Flight Centre share price last month
Let's take a trip down memory lane. In late January, Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Cairns where he announced Australia's borders would be open "well before Easter".
It was the first glimmer of a timeline that could see the nation welcoming tourists back to its shores.
Of course, it wasn't long before Morrison told Australia its international borders would reopen on 21 February.
The Flight Centre share price surged 7.8% on 7 February – the day the landmark announcement dropped. It gained another 6.7% the following day.
February also saw the travel agent's stock partaking in less explainable gains.
On 16 February, the company's share price took off, gaining 5.7% over a particularly good session for many ASX travel shares.
Though, it handed back much of its growth when the company released its earnings for the first half of financial year 2022.
The first six months of the financial year saw Flight Centre's total transaction value soar 112.9% as its revenue surged 98.1%.
However, the company also reported a $188 million underlying loss after tax. Meanwhile, its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) slumped to a loss of $184 million.
The Flight Centre share price nose-dived 10.1% on the back of its first-half results.
Additionally, the company's stock's short-selling position surged at the end of February.
As The Motley Fool Australia's James Mickleboro reported on Monday, Flight Centre has a short interest of 14.9%.
That means more and more market participants are now betting against the stock's future performance.
