Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares have had a reasonably positive 12 months.
Thanks to some strong gains since the turn of the year, the travel agent's shares have rebounded to record a 12-month gain of 6%.
This is a touch behind the performance of the ASX 200 index over the same period, which is up 7.5%.
Will the next financial year be better for Flight Centre shares? Let's find out.
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How are things shaping up for Flight Centre shares in FY24?
Unfortunately, the next 12 months look very uncertain for the company's shares.
In one corner you have a number of brokers that see plenty of upside for Flight Centre shares from current levels.
For example, Macquarie has an outperform rating and $21.30 price target on them and Morgans has an add rating and an even loftier $26.25 price target. The latter implies a massive potential upside of 38% over the next 12 months.
Morgans is bullish due to its belief that an earnings upgrade cycle is coming. It said:
With greater confidence in the travel recovery and the benefits of FLT's transformed business model starting to emerge, we think FLT is now at the cusp of an earnings upgrade cycle which may continue for the next few years.
Clearly, if Morgans is on the money with its recommendation, then Flight Centre could be an absolute market-beater in FY 2024.
But not everyone agrees.
Who is bearish?
According to the most recent data from ASIC, Flight Centre shares are once again the most shorted on the market. This followed a brief drop to second position earlier this week.
A total of 10.46% of its shares are held short, which equates to approximately 22.8 million shares.
That's the equivalent of approximately $434 million betting on the company's shares falling from current levels.
Time will tell whether it is analysts or short sellers that have made the right call on this one.
