London, March 13, 2026, 17:54 GMT
Autotrader Group shares were up about 1.5% at 494.8 pence on Friday, beating a London market hit by oil-led inflation worries, as investors absorbed a fresh holding disclosure from Baillie Gifford and another company buyback. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4% on the day. 1
That matters because Autotrader is still trying to recover from a sharp fall. Even after Friday’s rise, the stock is down about 35% over the past year and remains far below its 52-week high of 920p, with the next scheduled company catalyst set for May 21 full-year results. 2
The group has been leaning on cash returns while pushing deeper into online retail tools and AI. In its half-year results, it said it had returned £162.2 million to shareholders in the first half through buybacks and dividends, and that more than 75% of time spent on automotive marketplaces was on its platform; its disclosed competitor set includes Motors.co.uk, Cazoo and CarGurus. 3
A filing on Friday showed Baillie Gifford’s holding slipped to 4.996% of voting rights from 5.053%, crossing below a key UK disclosure threshold. The fund said the threshold was crossed on March 11 and the issuer was notified on March 12. 4
Autotrader said on Thursday it bought back 769,278 shares for cancellation at an average 488.9622p, with prices ranging from 480.50p to 496.00p. The buyback — a company purchase of its own stock — left 825,123,061 voting rights outstanding, the share count investors use to measure ownership stakes. 5
The operating backdrop has been steadier than the share move suggests. In a market report published this week, Autotrader said February used-car transactions slipped 2% year on year, but average cars sold every 27 days, one day faster than a year earlier, while demand was flat and supply edged up 1%.
Management has kept a firm tone. Chief customer officer Ian Plummer said in February that “2026 will be another strong year for used car sales,” and CEO Nathan Coe said at half-year results in November that the group remained “confident in the outlook.” 6
Still, the range of analyst views is wide. Autotrader’s latest consensus sheet shows UBS analyst Joseph Barnet-Lamb on a 470p sell, Jefferies’ Giles Thorne at 650p hold, Barclays’ Andrew Ross at 825p overweight and Deutsche Numis’s Gareth Davies at 1,040p buy — a spread that underlines how divided the market remains on the stock. 7
For now, Friday’s rebound leaves the shares above the level of the latest buyback, but still well short of last year’s peak. May’s results are the next clear test. 5
