WPP Shares Take A Hit After Sorrell Departs

WPP stock took a hit Monday in the wake of this weekend’s resignation by the agency holding company’s long-time CEO Martin Sorrell.

In mid-day trading on the NASDAQ, WPP American Depository Receipts were down $4.21 (nearly 5%) to $80.35.

On the London Exchange, WPP shares were down 6.48% on the day.

The slump would seem somewhat counterintuitive, as many blamed Sorrell for the stock’s steep decline in 2017.

For now, Pivotal Research senior analyst Brian Wieser is maintaining both his price target and “buy” rating for WPP shares.

“As to what comes next for WPP,” Wieser wrote in an investor note Sunday, “there are a range of potential outcomes. It could very well be that anyone who might follow Sorrell on a full-time basis would bring new ideas to the holding company and lead the rebound that we think will eventually occur.

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Further, as WPP may have many of the industry’s best assets (because of the inclusion of Kantar, a decent focus on marketing technology and a superior geographic mix relative to peers), it was already evolving its long-term direction.”

Meanwhile, both Interpublic Group and Omnicom shares were both trading up a couple of percentage points in afternoon trading while Publicis shares were down slightly for the day on the Paris Exchange.

 

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