- 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.
MACF
LSE
Week ended 07 Aug 2026
Weekly Investor Report
Macfarlane Group PLC · Consumer Cyclical · Packaging & Containers
Latest close
0.73 GBP
-0.4%
latest week
Weekly setup
Constructive, but selective
The weekly trend is active. Price is 9.9% above the Trend Line and sits at 41.5% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned -0.4%, after a 13.0% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality is middle-of-the-pack; growth is moderate; valuation is neither clearly cheap nor expensive. The latest news-sentiment score is 51/100.
Setup score
47
out of 100
Latest Close
0.73 GBP
7 Aug 2026
1W Return
-0.4%
latest completed week
4W Return
13.0%
short-term follow-through
12W Return
12.3%
quarterly tape
Trend Breadth
1.9%
1 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio
1.2x
vs 13-week average
- 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.
- The share remains more than 20% below its 52-week high.
- Latest weekly return ranks in the weaker part of its sector group.
- 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
-0.4%
Latest completed week; four-week move 13.0%.
Indicator stack
5/78
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
Recent
Activity-pressure buy-signal status for institutional accumulation timing.
News sentiment
51/100
6 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 9.9% above the Trend Line and sits at 41.5% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned -0.4%, after a 13.0% 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 1.2x the 13-week average. Participation is around or above normal and provides reasonable 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 0.3712-week average 0.19
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 leadership0/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.37Current proprietary activity-pressure read.
Buy signals2Accumulation 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 13.0% over four weeks, 12.3% over 12 weeks, and -22.4% over one year. The current trend has remained active for 1 consecutive weeks.
Performance by holding period
Active trend streak1 weeks
Active weeks in one year1
Trend breadth1.9%
Activity pressure vs relative leadership
Activity pressureRelative leadership
Pressure1.36Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change43.8%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership-5.62Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change66.5%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 is middle-of-the-pack; growth is moderate; valuation is neither clearly cheap nor expensive.
Factor week 09 Aug 2026
Financial statements through 31 Dec 2025
Field coverage 82%
Model confidence 65%
Relative factor standing
Higher display scores are better. Each score is converted from the underlying universe rank, where rank 1 is best.
Overall factor strength46/100Blend of value, momentum, and quality. Underlying universe rank 55; rank 1 is best.
Value47/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 54; rank 1 is best.
Quality48/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 53; rank 1 is best.
Momentum48/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 53; rank 1 is best.
Growth48/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 53; 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.
Value-quality framework36/100Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.
Valuation
How much investors are paying for earnings, sales, and cash flow.
- P/E
- - Price divided by trailing earnings.
- Price / sales
- - Market value relative to trailing revenue.
- EV / EBITDA
- - Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
- Free-cash-flow yield
- - Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.
Business quality
Margins and the return generated on invested capital.
- Gross margin
- 37.3% Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
- Operating margin
- 4.2% Operating profit retained from revenue.
- Free-cash-flow margin
- 6.7% Free cash flow generated from revenue.
- Return on invested capital
- 4.8% Operating return generated on invested capital.
Growth and financial strength
Recent business growth and accounting strength.
- Revenue growth
- 11.2% Latest one-year revenue growth.
- EPS growth
- -58.7% Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
- Free-cash-flow growth
- -10.6% 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
- - Cash dividends relative to market value.
- Buyback yield
- - Net share repurchases relative to market value.
- Shareholder yield
- - Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 2.4x 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 6 relevant articles.
1 positive · 5 neutral · 0 negativePatient CapitalRecent
Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.
Recent buy signal in the last 8 weeks
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-23.1%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility3.3%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 higher11 of 2615 weeks finished lower.
Best week+9.4%Week of 31 Jul.
Worst week-7.3%Week of 6 Mar.
Latest week-0.4%Week of 7 Aug.
Shape of recent returns
Strong gains5
Modest gains6
Flat weeks0
Modest losses12
Sharp losses3
Recent vol3.3%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol4.2%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split20/31Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew3.1% / -2.7%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 Consumer Cyclical
4-week rank15 / 100
Group average5.3%
Trend breadth48.0%
Trend48.0%active weekly trend signals
MD74.0%positive activity pressure
RS43.0%positive relative leadership
Four-week leaders
IndustryGB Packaging & Containers
4-week rank1 / 5
Group average5.3%
Trend breadth60.0%
Trend60.0%active weekly trend signals
MD60.0%positive activity pressure
RS0.0%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 tape40/100
Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 40/100 tape read.
Indicator analysis38/100Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 1/12, activity pressure 12/12, relative leadership 0/12.
Activity pressure 0.37; No reversal markers Factors46/100O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.
Buyback Yield rank 50 SVQF36/100Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.
Composite rank 224.5 of 351 Patient CapitalRecentActivity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.
Recent buy signal in the last 8 weeks Sentiment51/100Weighted news tone is neutral across 6 relevant articles.
Macfarlane cancels 60,000 shares as buyback trims share capital and updates voting rights 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 | 0.73 GBP | -0.4% | 0.66 GBP | 0.94 GBP | 1.36 | -5.62 | 751.8K | On |
| 31 Jul 2026 | 0.73 GBP | 9.4% | 0.66 GBP | 0.94 GBP | 1.11 | -5.88 | 1.0M | Off |
| 24 Jul 2026 | 0.67 GBP | -1.2% | 0.66 GBP | 0.94 GBP | 0.90 | -13.76 | 909.1K | Off |
| 17 Jul 2026 | 0.68 GBP | 5.0% | 0.66 GBP | 0.94 GBP | 0.94 | -12.61 | 1.1M | Off |
| 10 Jul 2026 | 0.65 GBP | -0.9% | 0.66 GBP | 0.94 GBP | 0.95 | -16.80 | 339.7K | Off |
| 3 Jul 2026 | 0.65 GBP | -4.0% | 0.66 GBP | 0.95 GBP | 1.10 | -18.36 | 107.2K | Off |
| 26 Jun 2026 | 0.68 GBP | 1.2% | 0.67 GBP | 0.95 GBP | 1.11 | -15.01 | 79.0K | Off |
| 19 Jun 2026 | 0.67 GBP | -0.3% | 0.66 GBP | 0.95 GBP | 0.99 | -16.17 | 241.9K | Off |
| 12 Jun 2026 | 0.67 GBP | 3.9% | 0.66 GBP | 0.95 GBP | 0.81 | -18.11 | 184.2K | Off |
| 5 Jun 2026 | 0.65 GBP | -1.8% | 0.66 GBP | 0.95 GBP | 0.58 | -21.51 | 919.1K | Off |
| 29 May 2026 | 0.66 GBP | 0.6% | 0.66 GBP | 0.96 GBP | 0.41 | -21.63 | 439.0K | Off |
| 22 May 2026 | 0.66 GBP | 0.9% | 0.66 GBP | 0.96 GBP | 0.27 | -23.68 | 724.1K | Off |
| 15 May 2026 | 0.65 GBP | -0.4% | 0.66 GBP | 0.96 GBP | 0.14 | -23.43 | 1.3M | Off |
| 8 May 2026 | 0.65 GBP | 7.6% | 0.67 GBP | 0.96 GBP | 0.07 | -24.30 | 1.2M | 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.