London, Feb 15, 2026, 15:18 GMT — Market closed.
- Sage shares last closed up 1.7% on Friday at 807.4p, after touching a 52-week low.
- A filing showed a person linked to a Sage non-executive director bought 35,000 shares worth about £283,000.
- Investors now watch whether Monday’s trade extends the bounce, with Sage’s interim results due May 21.
Shares in Sage Group plc ended Friday up 1.7% at 807.4 pence, after trading between 790.6p and 814.0p, according to Hargreaves Lansdown data. The move left the FTSE 100 software group valued at about £7.6 billion, with a quoted dividend yield of 2.7%. (Hargreaves Lansdown)
That Friday bounce matters mostly because it came right on top of the stock’s 52-week low. Sage has been caught in a broader reset across listed software names, where investors are questioning how quickly new AI tools could pressure pricing and growth.
A regulatory notice added one company-specific datapoint. Sage said it was notified that Jillian Marie Bates, a person closely associated with non-executive director Dr John Bates, bought 35,000 shares on Feb. 12 for an aggregate £283,349. The notice refers to a PDMR — a senior manager under market rules — and is required under the UK Market Abuse Regulation. (Investegate)
The disclosure landed at the end of a choppy week for London stocks. The FTSE 100 rose 0.4% on Friday as takeover activity and rate-cut expectations helped counter worries about AI disruption, Reuters reported. Investors were pricing a 63.4% chance of a 25-basis-point Bank of England cut in March, though BoE chief economist Huw Pill said rates must stay “restrictive until disinflation is firmly secured.” (Reuters)
The mood swing in software has not stayed in Europe. Barclays equity strategist Emmanuel Cau said investors remain in “sell first think later” mode as they look for “AI losers,” after a burst of releases including Anthropic’s legal AI plug-in, Reuters reported. In the same note, Reuters said the S&P 500 Software & Services index has lost about $2 trillion in value since its October peak; Intuit — a big name in small-business accounting software — is down 40% this year. (Reuters)
For Sage holders, the near-term question is whether Friday’s bounce survives the Monday open, or whether the shares slide back toward the 790p area that marked the week’s low. A second question: does the director-linked buying pull in fresh demand, or does it fade as a one-off headline.
There is a downside case. The purchase is small next to Sage’s market value, and it does not change the bigger risk that software valuations get hit again if bond yields jump or the AI scare trade deepens, forcing another round of de-rating.
The next hard catalyst on Sage’s calendar is its H1 FY26 interim results on May 21, followed by a Q3 FY26 trading update on July 29, the company’s investor relations site shows. Investors will be looking for any shift in subscription growth and margins — and, before that, for more filings and broker calls that could set the tone into that May print. (Sage)
