WPP (LON:WPP) Trading 28.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Posted by Ethan Ryder on Aug 8th, 2026

WPP plc (LON:WPP – Get Free Report) shares traded up 28.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as GBX 400 and last traded at GBX 395. Approximately 22,847,670 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 32,058,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 307.10.

WPP News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting WPP this week:

Positive Sentiment: WPP reported profit growth and said its restructuring and turnaround initiatives are progressing. Investors appeared to focus on improved profitability and signs of recovery, outweighing concerns about the top-line decline. WPP shares soar as advertising group shows signs of recovery
Positive Sentiment: Analyst support strengthened: Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating with a GBX 425 target, while Berenberg reiterated “buy” with a GBX 405 target. JPMorgan also raised its target from GBX 350 to GBX 390, although it maintained a “neutral” rating. Broker ratings
Positive Sentiment: The market reaction reflected optimism that WPP’s overhaul could stabilize the business after a difficult period, with reports describing the move as a turnaround bounce driven by improving execution and profit resilience. WPP shares jump as overhaul begins to bear fruit
Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly earnings were reported at GBX 1.80 per share. However, WPP still recorded a negative net margin of 1.59% and negative return on equity of 7.54%, highlighting that the recovery remains incomplete.
Negative Sentiment: Like-for-like adjusted revenue fell 4.7% in the first half, and WPP is cutting jobs as it manages ongoing weakness in demand. The revenue decline remains the main risk to a sustained recovery and could limit future earnings growth. WPP slashes jobs as revenue continues to fall

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 405 price objective on shares of WPP in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on WPP from GBX 350 to GBX 390 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on WPP from GBX 275 to GBX 285 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 425 price target on shares of WPP in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of GBX 376.25.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WPP

WPP Trading Up 4.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of £4.44 billion, a PE ratio of -20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 279.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 270.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 268.98.

WPP (LON:WPP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported GBX 1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. WPP had a negative net margin of 1.59% and a negative return on equity of 7.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WPP plc will post 81.6125654 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Peter Agnefjäll purchased 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 281 per share, with a total value of £210,750. Also, insider Cindy Rose sold 88,227 shares of WPP stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 282, for a total transaction of £248,800.14. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.