Omicron setback will buy an opportunity for tourism stocks, investor says

December 2, 2021: -The dip in travel stocks after the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant is a temporary “setback” that presents attractive buying opportunities within the sector, according to investor SpringOwl Asset Management. After the World Health Organization classified omicron as a “variant of concern, ” travel and tourism stocks were hammered.” Several countries also moved to reimpose border restrictions.

The immediate pullback is “not dissimilar,” seeing with the discovery of the delta variant in the year 2020, but is likely to be short-lived, said SpringOwl CEO Jason Ader, which noted that he is bullish on global travel stocks.

“It’s always in the period where people are concerned where you make the most as an investor,” he told CNBC on Tuesday.

“It may not happen as quickly as the bulls had hoped, but it’s coming. And the pullback in the stock prices certainly represents an interesting opportunity right now,” he said.

SpringOwl Asset Management is most bullish on casino stocks, especially those in Macao. The island suffered under travel restrictions, particularly those for visitors from mainland China and recent regulatory crackdowns.

“The Macao gaming companies now, because of the pandemic but also because of some potential regulation changes probably present some of the best value in the entire stock market right now,” said Ader.

Ader said Las Vegas Sands, owning and operating resorts and casinos across the U.S., Macao, and Singapore, is lovely. The stock closed around $35 per share Tuesday, is down nearly 50% from its January 2020 levels.

“That’s at the top of my list right now of companies that have been affected by travel and tourism,” said Ader, which h the company’s “strong balance sheets.”

“I think we’ll look back in some years and wish we’d bought more” when it was below $40, he added.