WPP LSE Week ended 07 Aug 2026

Weekly Investor Report

WPP plc · Communication Services · Advertising Agencies

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Latest close 411.4 GBP
37.7% latest week
Weekly setup

Constructive, but selective

The weekly trend is active. Price is 49.8% above the Trend Line and sits at 100.0% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 37.7%, after a 49.8% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks weakly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is neither clearly cheap nor expensive. The latest news-sentiment score is 51/100. Near-term considerations: price is close to its 52-week high.

Setup score 71 out of 100
Latest Close 411.4 GBP 7 Aug 2026
1W Return 37.7% latest completed week
4W Return 49.8% short-term follow-through
12W Return 57.1% quarterly tape
Trend Breadth 1.9% 1 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio 2.7x vs 13-week average
What is working
  • The trend backdrop is active with a 1-week active streak.
  • Price is above the Trend Line, keeping the weekly tape constructive.
  • Activity pressure is positive on the latest completed week.
  • Volume is elevated versus the 13-week average, confirming attention.
What could go wrong
  • Price is below Fair Value, so the market is still discounting the latest tape.
  • Activity pressure is weak, so confirmation is not yet broad enough.
  • Recent volatility is running well above the one-year baseline.
What to watch next
  • Price is close to its 52-week high; watch for continuation or exhaustion.
  • Trend Line remains the key weekly regime level.
  • Activity pressure is the gauge to monitor for confirmation or fade.
  • A volume ratio above 1.5x would show stronger participation in the next move.
Price follow-through 37.7% Latest completed week; four-week move 49.8%. Indicator stack 5/98 Trend and activity pressure are weighted against the latest 12-week confirmation window. Trend backdrop Active The trend backdrop defines the current weekly regime. Patient Capital Buy Activity-pressure buy-signal status for institutional accumulation timing. Next-Week Expectancy Positive 56.89% Historical one-week expectancy contributes to the evidence score when direction is confirmed. News sentiment 51/100 9 relevant articles in the latest sentiment read.
01 · Price action

Where price is—and whether the trend supports it

The weekly trend is active. Price is 49.8% above the Trend Line and sits at 100.0% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 37.7%, after a 49.8% four-week move.

Study the full chart

52-week price path

Price vs Trend Line and Fair Value
Price Trend Line Fair Value
02 · Volume and demand

Is real participation confirming the move?

Latest weekly volume is 2.7x the 13-week average. Participation is unusually strong and confirms that the move is attracting attention.

26-week volume confirmation

Bar height shows volume; colour shows the weekly price direction
13 Feb 20 Feb 27 Feb 6 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 1 May 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun 26 Jun 3 Jul 10 Jul 17 Jul 24 Jul 31 Jul 7 Aug
Up week Down week
Demand beneath price

Activity pressure and institutional-style signals

These indicators assess whether participation is improving beneath the headline price move. They are supporting evidence, not proof of institutional buying.

Activity pressure path

Latest 0.3112-week average 0.24

12-week confirmation

Trend active1/12Active trend-backdrop weeks in the latest 12-week window.
Positive pressure12/12Weeks with constructive activity pressure in the latest 12-week window.
Positive leadership1/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.31Current proprietary activity-pressure read.
Buy signals3Accumulation signal count in the latest 12 weeks.
Reversal markers0No reversal markers

No recent accumulation markers. No reversal markers.

03 · Momentum and leadership

Is performance persistent—and is the stock leading?

Performance is 49.8% over four weeks, 57.1% over 12 weeks, and 12.0% over one year. The current trend has remained active for 1 consecutive weeks.

Performance by holding period

1W37.7%
4W49.8%
12W57.1%
26W53.6%
52W12.0%
Active trend streak1 weeks
Active weeks in one year1
Trend breadth1.9%

Activity pressure vs relative leadership

Activity pressureRelative leadership
Pressure1.76Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change198.3%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership24.16Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change241.1%Four-week change in relative leadership.
04 · Fundamentals and valuation

What investors are paying for—and the quality behind it

The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks weakly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is neither clearly cheap nor expensive.

Open full factor analysis
Factor week 09 Aug 2026 Financial statements through 31 Dec 2025 Field coverage 88% Model confidence 70%

Relative factor standing

Higher display scores are better. Each score is converted from the underlying universe rank, where rank 1 is best.

Overall factor strength39/100Blend of value, momentum, and quality. Underlying universe rank 62; rank 1 is best.
Value80/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 21; rank 1 is best.
Quality1/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 100; rank 1 is best.
Momentum15/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 86; rank 1 is best.
Growth9/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 92; rank 1 is best.
How to read this

Quality and valuation are separate questions

A strong company can still carry a demanding valuation. This report shows profitability, growth, balance-sheet strength, and the price paid for those characteristics separately.

Valuation

How much investors are paying for earnings, sales, and cash flow.

P/E
-
Price divided by trailing earnings.
Price / sales
0.3x
Market value relative to trailing revenue.
EV / EBITDA
9.5x
Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
Free-cash-flow yield
6.1%
Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.

Business quality

Margins and the return generated on invested capital.

Gross margin
15.8%
Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
Operating margin
2.8%
Operating profit retained from revenue.
Free-cash-flow margin
4.0%
Free cash flow generated from revenue.
Return on invested capital
4.3%
Operating return generated on invested capital.

Growth and financial strength

Recent business growth and accounting strength.

Revenue growth
-8.1%
Latest one-year revenue growth.
EPS growth
-
Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
Free-cash-flow growth
-54.1%
Latest one-year free-cash-flow growth.
Piotroski F-score
4/9
Nine-point accounting-strength checklist.

Shareholder return and balance sheet

Cash returned to owners and financial leverage.

Dividend yield
3.6%
Cash dividends relative to market value.
Buyback yield
2.2%
Net share repurchases relative to market value.
Shareholder yield
5.8%
Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
Net debt / EBITDA
4.4x
Balance-sheet debt relative to operating cash earnings.
05 · Ownership, options, and sentiment

What other market participants are doing

Options, insider transactions, market sentiment, and activity-pressure signals can confirm or challenge the price story. None should be used alone.

Insider activity-

No recent insider transactions are stored for this company.

News sentiment51/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 9 relevant articles.

1 positive · 7 neutral · 1 negative
Patient CapitalFresh

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

Fresh buy signal
06 · Catalysts and risk

What can move the shares—and how volatile the path has been

Event timing, options-implied movement, drawdown, and weekly return distribution frame the risk around the current setup.

Next earnings-No event is currently stored.
Options expected move-Nearest-chain priced movement where available.
52-week drawdown0.0%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility11.2%Standard deviation of weekly returns.

Weekly gains and losses

Latest 26 completed weeks

Each bar is one week. Gains rise above the zero line; losses fall below it. Taller bars mean a larger weekly move.

Weeks higher17 of 269 weeks finished lower.
Best week+37.7%Week of 7 Aug.
Worst week-9.6%Week of 13 Mar.
Latest week+37.7%Week of 7 Aug.

Shape of recent returns

Strong gains7
Modest gains10
Flat weeks0
Modest losses2
Sharp losses7
Recent vol11.2%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol7.9%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split32/20Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew4.7% / -6.2%Average positive week versus average negative week.
07 · Sector and peer context

Is this stock leading—or simply moving with its group?

Sector and industry breadth distinguish company-specific strength from a broad group move.

08 · Evidence and weekly data

The underlying research record

Every top-level statement above should be traceable to a stored market, fundamental, event, or positioning observation.

Weekly tape63/100

Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 63/100 tape read.

 Indicator analysis39/100

Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 1/12, activity pressure 12/12, relative leadership 1/12.

Activity pressure 0.31; No reversal markers Next-Week ExpectancyPositive 56.89%

Next-week expectancy is positive with a 56.89% historical one-week setup read.

Adds short-term historical context without overriding trend, activity, or relative leadership. Factors32/100

O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.

Buyback Yield rank 25 Patient CapitalFresh

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

Fresh buy signal Sentiment51/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 9 relevant articles.

WPP plc Stock 12‑Month Price Target Raised to $23.6, Implies 9% Downside Insiders50/100

No recent insider transaction evidence is stored.

 Earnings50/100

No stored earnings event is currently attached to this ticker.
WeekCloseReturnTrend LineFair ValuePressureLeadershipVolumeTrend
7 Aug 2026411.4 GBP37.7%274.6 GBP574.5 GBP1.7624.1646.7MOn
31 Jul 2026298.7 GBP5.7%272.5 GBP576.9 GBP1.51-9.7325.6MOff
24 Jul 2026282.5 GBP0.0%273.8 GBP580.2 GBP1.06-14.5016.5MOff
17 Jul 2026282.4 GBP2.8%275.3 GBP583.8 GBP0.79-14.5625.0MOff
10 Jul 2026274.6 GBP9.5%277.0 GBP587.3 GBP0.59-17.1222.3MOff
3 Jul 2026250.7 GBP1.4%278.9 GBP591.0 GBP0.49-26.563.7MOff
26 Jun 2026247.2 GBP-8.9%280.4 GBP594.6 GBP0.57-27.967.0MOff
19 Jun 2026271.4 GBP-3.6%282.3 GBP598.3 GBP0.72-21.4311.2MOff
12 Jun 2026281.4 GBP7.1%283.3 GBP601.9 GBP0.80-20.904.3MOff
5 Jun 2026262.7 GBP-6.7%283.6 GBP605.7 GBP0.77-26.883.2MOff
29 May 2026281.6 GBP2.1%284.1 GBP609.6 GBP0.80-23.5315.5MOff
22 May 2026275.8 GBP5.3%284.3 GBP613.4 GBP0.61-27.1526.9MOff
15 May 2026261.8 GBP-4.8%287.2 GBP617.2 GBP0.31-30.5419.6MOff
8 May 2026274.9 GBP3.5%290.1 GBP621.2 GBP0.14-28.9224.8MOff
How to use this report

This is a completed-week research summary. It explains the available evidence and its conflicts; it does not predict a guaranteed outcome or replace your own risk assessment. Fundamental figures may refer to an earlier financial reporting period, which is shown above.

Evidence context