- The trend backdrop is active with a 10-week active streak.
- Price is above the Trend Line, keeping the weekly tape constructive.
- Price is above Fair Value, showing premium demand versus the model.
- Activity pressure is positive on the latest completed week.
SCT
LSE
Week ended 07 Aug 2026
Weekly Investor Report
Softcat plc · Technology · Electronics & Computer Distribution
Latest close
1,994 GBP
3.3%
latest week
Weekly setup
Constructive, but selective
The weekly trend is active. Price is 32.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 98.9% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 3.3%, after a 5.8% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers. The latest news-sentiment score is 50/100. Near-term considerations: price is close to its 52-week high; volume confirmation is below normal.
Setup score
66
out of 100
Latest Close
1,994 GBP
7 Aug 2026
1W Return
3.3%
latest completed week
4W Return
5.8%
short-term follow-through
12W Return
45.1%
quarterly tape
Trend Breadth
19.2%
10 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio
0.9x
vs 13-week average
- 2 reversal markers appear in the recent smart-money tape.
- 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
3.3%
Latest completed week; four-week move 5.8%.
Indicator stack
45/70
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
Quiet
Activity-pressure buy-signal status for institutional accumulation timing.
News sentiment
50/100
18 relevant articles in the latest sentiment read.
01 · Price action
Study the full chart
Where price is—and whether the trend supports it
The weekly trend is active. Price is 32.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 98.9% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 3.3%, after a 5.8% four-week move.
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 0.9x the 13-week average. Participation is below its recent norm, so price strength is not receiving full volume confirmation.
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 0.9112-week average 0.61
12-week confirmation
Trend active10/12Active trend-backdrop weeks in the latest 12-week window.
Positive pressure12/12Weeks with constructive activity pressure in the latest 12-week window.
Positive leadership12/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.91Current proprietary activity-pressure read.
Buy signals0Accumulation signal count in the latest 12 weeks.
Reversal markers22 reversal markers
No recent accumulation markers. 2 reversal markers.
03 · Momentum and leadership
Is performance persistent—and is the stock leading?
Performance is 5.8% over four weeks, 45.1% over 12 weeks, and 25.4% over one year. The current trend has remained active for 10 consecutive weeks.
Performance by holding period
Active trend streak10 weeks
Active weeks in one year10
Trend breadth19.2%
Activity pressure vs relative leadership
Activity pressureRelative leadership
Pressure1.13Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change2.7%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership21.76Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change11.7%Four-week change in relative leadership.
04 · Fundamentals and valuation
Open full factor analysis
What investors are paying for—and the quality behind it
The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers.
Factor week 09 Aug 2026
Financial statements through 31 Jan 2026
Field coverage 91%
Model confidence 77%
Relative factor standing
Higher display scores are better. Each score is converted from the underlying universe rank, where rank 1 is best.
Overall factor strength42/100Blend of value, momentum, and quality. Underlying universe rank 59; rank 1 is best.
Value2/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 99; rank 1 is best.
Quality92/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 9; rank 1 is best.
Momentum88/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 13; rank 1 is best.
Growth9/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 92; rank 1 is best.
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
- 32.9x Price divided by trailing earnings.
- Price / sales
- 4.1x Market value relative to trailing revenue.
- EV / EBITDA
- 22.5x Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
- Free-cash-flow yield
- 2.9% Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.
Business quality
Margins and the return generated on invested capital.
- Gross margin
- 43.4% Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
- Operating margin
- 16.0% Operating profit retained from revenue.
- Free-cash-flow margin
- 11.3% Free cash flow generated from revenue.
- Return on invested capital
- 98.4% Operating return generated on invested capital.
Growth and financial strength
Recent business growth and accounting strength.
- Revenue growth
- -2.3% Latest one-year revenue growth.
- EPS growth
- 6.1% Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
- Free-cash-flow growth
- 6.8% Latest one-year free-cash-flow growth.
- Piotroski F-score
- 5/9 Nine-point accounting-strength checklist.
Shareholder return and balance sheet
Cash returned to owners and financial leverage.
- Dividend yield
- 2.3% Cash dividends relative to market value.
- Buyback yield
- 0.0% Net share repurchases relative to market value.
- Shareholder yield
- 2.3% Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
- Net debt / EBITDA
- -1.0x 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 sentiment50/100
Weighted news tone is neutral across 18 relevant articles.
5 positive · 13 neutral · 0 negativePatient CapitalQuiet
Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.
No recent 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 drawdown-0.5%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility6.1%Standard deviation of weekly returns.
Weekly gains and losses
Latest 26 completed weeksEach bar is one week. Gains rise above the zero line; losses fall below it. Taller bars mean a larger weekly move.
13 Feb
13 Mar
10 Apr
8 May
5 Jun
3 Jul
7 Aug
Weeks higher16 of 2610 weeks finished lower.
Best week+18.4%Week of 22 May.
Worst week-4.1%Week of 27 Mar.
Latest week+3.3%Week of 7 Aug.
Shape of recent returns
Strong gains7
Modest gains9
Flat weeks0
Modest losses9
Sharp losses1
Recent vol6.1%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol5.2%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split27/25Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew4.0% / -3.1%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.
SectorGB Technology
4-week rank32 / 100
Group average2.8%
Trend breadth37.0%
Trend37.0%active weekly trend signals
MD58.0%positive activity pressure
RS34.0%positive relative leadership
Four-week leaders
IndustryGB Electronics & Computer Distribution
4-week rank1 / 3
Group average4.5%
Trend breadth33.3%
Trend33.3%active weekly trend signals
MD66.7%positive activity pressure
RS33.3%positive relative leadership
Four-week leaders
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 tape61/100
Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 61/100 tape read.
Indicator analysis82/100Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 10/12, activity pressure 12/12, relative leadership 12/12.
Activity pressure 0.91; 2 reversal markers Factors55/100O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.
Buyback Yield rank 81 Patient CapitalQuietActivity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.
No recent buy signal Sentiment50/100Weighted news tone is neutral across 18 relevant articles.
Softcat plc (SCT) CEO and CFO Acquire Shares at 1,990.5p via Share Incentive Plan Insiders50/100No recent insider transaction evidence is stored.
Earnings50/100No stored earnings event is currently attached to this ticker.
| Week | Close | Return | Trend Line | Fair Value | Pressure | Leadership | Volume | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Aug 2026 | 1,994 GBP | 3.3% | 1,502 GBP | 1,540 GBP | 1.13 | 21.76 | 1.3M | On |
| 31 Jul 2026 | 1,930 GBP | 2.0% | 1,485 GBP | 1,537 GBP | 1.14 | 18.34 | 2.9M | On |
| 24 Jul 2026 | 1,893 GBP | 3.2% | 1,467 GBP | 1,534 GBP | 1.09 | 17.52 | 1.2M | On |
| 17 Jul 2026 | 1,835 GBP | -2.6% | 1,451 GBP | 1,531 GBP | 1.08 | 15.35 | 992.3K | On |
| 10 Jul 2026 | 1,884 GBP | -3.5% | 1,437 GBP | 1,529 GBP | 1.10 | 19.48 | 1.2M | On |
| 3 Jul 2026 | 1,952 GBP | 7.7% | 1,423 GBP | 1,526 GBP | 1.08 | 21.59 | 253.1K | On |
| 26 Jun 2026 | 1,813 GBP | 2.3% | 1,407 GBP | 1,523 GBP | 1.09 | 14.69 | 280.9K | On |
| 19 Jun 2026 | 1,773 GBP | -1.5% | 1,395 GBP | 1,520 GBP | 1.18 | 13.39 | 581.7K | On |
| 12 Jun 2026 | 1,800 GBP | -3.8% | 1,383 GBP | 1,517 GBP | 1.28 | 13.29 | 474.6K | On |
| 5 Jun 2026 | 1,872 GBP | 7.8% | 1,371 GBP | 1,515 GBP | 1.27 | 18.47 | 366.2K | On |
| 29 May 2026 | 1,737 GBP | 6.8% | 1,358 GBP | 1,512 GBP | 1.20 | 9.14 | 2.6M | Off |
| 22 May 2026 | 1,627 GBP | 18.4% | 1,354 GBP | 1,510 GBP | 1.07 | 1.20 | 3.3M | Off |
| 15 May 2026 | 1,374 GBP | -3.2% | 1,354 GBP | 1,508 GBP | 0.93 | -12.76 | 3.2M | Off |
| 8 May 2026 | 1,420 GBP | 3.0% | 1,359 GBP | 1,508 GBP | 0.77 | -11.01 | 2.1M | Off |
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.