Key Points
- Insider buying: CEO Philip Jansen purchased 50,000 WPP shares at GBX 255 (about £127,500) and another senior insider, Cindy Rose, bought 50,000 at GBX 269, signaling management confidence in the stock.
- Turnaround plan and weak results: WPP unveiled a major agency consolidation targeting roughly £500m of annual cost savings, which, together with a quarterly EPS of GBX (20), has raised execution‑risk concerns and driven investor selling.
- Business positives: WPP won Estée Lauder’s global media account (reported at ~$987M) and expanded its partnership with Adobe, supporting revenue stability and enhanced service capabilities.
WPP plc (LON:WPP - Get Free Report) insider Philip Jansen bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 255 per share, for a total transaction of £127,500.
WPP Trading Down 1.3%
LON:WPP opened at GBX 268.78 on Friday. WPP plc has a 12 month low of GBX 245.40 and a 12 month high of GBX 669. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 215.67. The stock has a market capitalization of £2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 304.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 331.96.
WPP (LON:WPP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported GBX (20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. WPP had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 1.37%. Analysts expect that WPP plc will post 81.6125654 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Key Stories Impacting WPP
Here are the key news stories impacting WPP this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Two senior insiders bought stock — Philip Jansen purchased 50,000 shares at GBX 255 and Cindy Rose bought 50,000 shares at GBX 269, signaling management confidence in the company's prospects. Insider buys
- Positive Sentiment: WPP Media won Estée Lauder’s global media account (reported at ~$987M), a significant new or retained client that supports revenue stability and long‑term fee growth. Estée Lauder account
- Positive Sentiment: Expanded partnership with Adobe to integrate workflows and CX orchestration could improve service capabilities and product differentiation over time. Adobe partnership
- Neutral Sentiment: Promotions and hires across WPP Media (senior leadership changes and new VP investments) reflect routine restructuring of businesses during a strategy refresh; operational impact is gradual. Leadership moves
- Negative Sentiment: WPP unveiled a sweeping overhaul to consolidate agencies and target roughly £500m of annual cost savings — the plan creates execution risk, likely one‑off restructuring charges and staff disruption that spooked investors. Restructure and £500m cuts
- Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS came in at GBX (20), a weak print that highlights margin pressure and underpins concerns about near‑term profitability. Quarterly earnings
- Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: reports say shares plunged after the turnaround plan as investors weighed execution risk and potential costs; that selling pressure is driving the stock lower today. Shares plunge story
- Negative Sentiment: Legal/data risk: reporting that confidential client data was released amid litigation with an ex‑employee adds reputational and potential litigation downside. Data/legal issue
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WPP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on WPP from GBX 420 to GBX 360 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a GBX 365 price objective on shares of WPP in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 362.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WPP
About WPP
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WPP is the creative transformation company, using the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities.
We are a world leader in marketing services, with deep AI, data and technology capabilities, global presence and unrivalled creative talent.
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