Are Flight Centre shares in the buy zone after the selloff?

Is it time to buy this travel share after recent weakness?

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Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares are having another tough session.

In afternoon trade, the travel agent's shares are down over 3% to $19.27.

This means the Flight Centre share price is now down 10% over the last two trading sessions.

Why are Flight Centre shares falling?

Investors have been selling Flight Centre shares since the release of an investor strategy update on Wednesday.

While some investors may have been hoping for another guidance upgrade, they will have been disappointed to find that management only held firm with its guidance.

In addition, there was a subtle change in commentary relating to the performance of its Leisure business.

Management revealed that Australian leisure total transaction value (TTV) was now tracking broadly in line with pre-COVID levels in May. This compares to being ahead of pre-COVID levels in March.

Should you buy the dip?

Goldman Sachs has looked over the update. Unfortunately, it hasn't seen enough to become more positive on the company and has retained its neutral rating with a $19.40 price target. This is largely in line with where its shares currently trade.

Commenting on the update, the broker said:

Management noted continued strength in momentum of both corporate and leisure businesses with corporate tracking ahead of industry recovery and leisure recovery continuing to gain momentum. Australian leisure was noted to be broadly in line with pre-COVID levels in May vs. ahead of pre-COVID levels in March, implying a slowdown.

It then concludes:

We view FLT's recovery as a sum of two tales: 1/ Corporate segment is expected to lead recovery with ongoing account wins including organic and competitive budget and offers encouraging long-term outlook but 2/ We expect leisure recovery to be below pre-pandemic levels and the channel strategy to be revenue margin dilutive. Overall, we view FLT's valuation as fully reflective of growth prospects. We do not see any short-term balance sheet risks and view FLT's ability to take advantage of opportunistic M&A as low. We are Neutral rated on FLT.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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