- 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.
VCT
LSE
Week ended 07 Aug 2026
Weekly Investor Report
Victrex plc · Basic Materials · Specialty Chemicals
Latest close
822.0 GBP
5.0%
latest week
Weekly setup
Constructive, but selective
The weekly trend is active. Price is 26.4% above the Trend Line and sits at 97.2% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 5.0%, after a 21.4% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks strongly; valuation is expensive relative to peers. The latest news-sentiment score is 51/100. Near-term considerations: price is close to its 52-week high.
Setup score
61
out of 100
Latest Close
822.0 GBP
7 Aug 2026
1W Return
5.0%
latest completed week
4W Return
21.4%
short-term follow-through
12W Return
39.8%
quarterly tape
Trend Breadth
1.9%
1 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio
1.3x
vs 13-week average
- Price is below Fair Value, so the market is still discounting the latest tape.
- Next-week expectancy is negative at 37.07% based on similar historical setup states.
- Activity pressure is weak, so confirmation is not yet broad enough.
- 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
5.0%
Latest completed week; four-week move 21.4%.
Indicator stack
5/93
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.
Next-Week Expectancy
Negative 37.07%
Historical one-week expectancy contributes to the evidence score when direction is confirmed.
News sentiment
51/100
17 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 26.4% above the Trend Line and sits at 97.2% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 5.0%, after a 21.4% 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 1.3x 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 0.4212-week average 0.19
12-week confirmation
Trend active1/12Active trend-backdrop weeks in the latest 12-week window.
Positive pressure9/12Weeks with constructive activity pressure in the latest 12-week window.
Positive leadership4/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.42Current 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 21.4% over four weeks, 39.8% over 12 weeks, and 19.2% 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
Pressure1.52Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change197.8%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership14.87Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change711.4%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 strongly; valuation is expensive relative to peers.
Factor week 09 Aug 2026
Financial statements through 31 Mar 2026
Field coverage 91%
Model confidence 85%
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.
Value10/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 91; rank 1 is best.
Quality82/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 19; rank 1 is best.
Momentum83/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 18; rank 1 is best.
Growth82/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 19; 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 framework18/100Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.
Valuation
How much investors are paying for earnings, sales, and cash flow.
- P/E
- 25.8x Price divided by trailing earnings.
- Price / sales
- 2.4x Market value relative to trailing revenue.
- EV / EBITDA
- 12.8x Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
- Free-cash-flow yield
- 6.3% Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.
Business quality
Margins and the return generated on invested capital.
- Gross margin
- 44.7% Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
- Operating margin
- 13.4% Operating profit retained from revenue.
- Free-cash-flow margin
- 16.6% Free cash flow generated from revenue.
- Return on invested capital
- 7.3% Operating return generated on invested capital.
Growth and financial strength
Recent business growth and accounting strength.
- Revenue growth
- 0.1% Latest one-year revenue growth.
- EPS growth
- 61.6% Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
- Free-cash-flow growth
- -4.1% Latest one-year free-cash-flow growth.
- Piotroski F-score
- 6/9 Nine-point accounting-strength checklist.
Shareholder return and balance sheet
Cash returned to owners and financial leverage.
- Dividend yield
- 7.2% Cash dividends relative to market value.
- Buyback yield
- -0.0% Net share repurchases relative to market value.
- Shareholder yield
- 7.2% Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 0.7x 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 17 relevant articles.
1 positive · 16 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-1.1%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility4.9%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 higher14 of 2612 weeks finished lower.
Best week+14.7%Week of 10 Jul.
Worst week-12.1%Week of 20 Mar.
Latest week+5.0%Week of 7 Aug.
Shape of recent returns
Strong gains10
Modest gains4
Flat weeks0
Modest losses8
Sharp losses4
Recent vol4.9%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol5.0%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split29/23Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew3.9% / -3.9%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 Basic Materials
4-week rank14 / 100
Group average5.9%
Trend breadth26.0%
Trend26.0%active weekly trend signals
MD33.0%positive activity pressure
RS43.0%positive relative leadership
Four-week leaders
IndustryGB Specialty Chemicals
4-week rank5 / 12
Group average19.9%
Trend breadth41.7%
Trend41.7%active weekly trend signals
MD58.3%positive activity pressure
RS50.0%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 tape53/100
Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 53/100 tape read.
Indicator analysis40/100Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 1/12, activity pressure 9/12, relative leadership 4/12.
Activity pressure 0.42; No reversal markers Next-Week ExpectancyNegative 37.07%Next-week expectancy is negative with a 37.07% historical one-week setup read.
Adds short-term historical context without overriding trend, activity, or relative leadership. Factors53/100O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.
Buyback Yield rank 85; Small Cap Core rank 74 SVQF18/100Value and quality alignment from the Sharemaestro SVQF framework.
Composite rank 214.5 of 260 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 17 relevant articles.
Albion Crown VCT PLC Revenue Breakdown – LSE:CRWN 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 | 822.0 GBP | 5.0% | 650.4 GBP | 963.1 GBP | 1.52 | 14.87 | 1.1M | On |
| 31 Jul 2026 | 783.0 GBP | 4.7% | 646.1 GBP | 967.6 GBP | 1.52 | 9.74 | 1.9M | Off |
| 24 Jul 2026 | 748.0 GBP | 5.4% | 642.0 GBP | 972.5 GBP | 1.11 | 6.00 | 1.2M | Off |
| 17 Jul 2026 | 710.0 GBP | 4.9% | 638.6 GBP | 977.5 GBP | 0.81 | 1.64 | 1.2M | Off |
| 10 Jul 2026 | 677.0 GBP | 14.7% | 636.7 GBP | 983.0 GBP | 0.51 | -2.43 | 1.7M | Off |
| 3 Jul 2026 | 590.0 GBP | -1.3% | 635.6 GBP | 988.2 GBP | 0.24 | -16.81 | 91.0K | Off |
| 26 Jun 2026 | 598.0 GBP | -1.8% | 638.3 GBP | 994.0 GBP | 0.14 | -15.12 | 300.7K | Off |
| 19 Jun 2026 | 609.0 GBP | -1.8% | 639.4 GBP | 999.0 GBP | 0.13 | -13.18 | 239.7K | Off |
| 12 Jun 2026 | 620.0 GBP | 2.0% | 638.9 GBP | 1,004 GBP | 0.03 | -13.17 | 232.7K | Off |
| 5 Jun 2026 | 608.0 GBP | -5.0% | 639.0 GBP | 1,009 GBP | -0.10 | -14.68 | 247.4K | Off |
| 29 May 2026 | 640.0 GBP | 1.1% | 639.6 GBP | 1,015 GBP | -0.13 | -11.28 | 1.0M | Off |
| 22 May 2026 | 632.9 GBP | 7.7% | 639.8 GBP | 1,021 GBP | -0.33 | -13.42 | 970.0K | Off |
| 15 May 2026 | 587.9 GBP | -0.2% | 641.2 GBP | 1,027 GBP | -0.43 | -18.10 | 1.5M | Off |
| 8 May 2026 | 588.9 GBP | -4.4% | 643.0 GBP | 1,033 GBP | -0.51 | -19.07 | 951.5K | 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.