Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
Options no verdict drawn today, left as found
Ethical passes the values gate
Price498.10 GBp
Fair value249.05
Ethical score97.3/100
RatingOVERVALUED
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-09-24Read Distribution498.10+0.0% to today
2026-08-22Read Markup472.40+5.4% to today ✓
2026-07-02Read Distribution472.40+5.4% to today
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
Auto Trader Group holds its Distribution at $498.10. Consolidating, no directional conviction, held for 27 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-09-21
Phase
Distribution · caution
Quantitative state
Consolidating, no directional conviction, held for 27 days
Price at the screen
$498.10
Valuation
1,509.39 trailing · 1,277.90 forward price to earnings
Values screen
PASS· score 97.3
The Workings
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Full pass across all five screens. This security clears the Titan Ethical Standard: its business and its balance sheet both stay inside the lines.
Test
Figure
Limit
What it means
Status
Business activity
Permissible
Core business clean
Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending.
Pass
Debt load
0.55%
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is just 0.6% of its assets, well under the one-third ceiling: it does not run on borrowed money.
Pass
Interest-bearing cash
2.39%
Below 33%
Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 2.4% of assets, under the one-third limit.
Pass
Receivables
4.74%
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is 4.7% of assets, under the 49% limit.
Pass
Revenue purity
0.18%
Below 5%
Only 0.2% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line.
Pass
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
The Ethical Read
Why It Clears, in Plain English
Auto Trader clears all five screens. Its business is in a permissible area, its debt is near-nil, and almost none of its income is interest, so it passes.
Read as at 2026-10-04. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
What the Numbers Say It Is Worth
The Fair Value Range
Our framework reads OVERVALUED: it trades above our $249.05 fair value estimate, 5.00% revenue growth.
Fair value range in GBp, drawn from the 2026-09-21 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. The price runs 50.0% above the base estimate.
Price History & Projections
Where it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-21 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain Words
Why it gives us pause
At 1,277.9x forward earnings, the price already runs ahead of the business. It trades 50% above our $249.05 fair value, so you would be buying at a premium, not a discount.
The risks · The main risks here are ordinary market swings and the chance our fair-value read proves too optimistic.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to Trade
AUTO.L trades on LSE. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
The Dated Journal · Newest First, Never Edited
Every Entry, As Written
2026-10-02Distribution$498.10+0.0%Entry 7
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with near-perfect ethical score. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 7%. The street (16 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $611.
The framework has shifted from markup to distribution since the last review. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved up 5.4% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with near-perfect ethical score. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 7%. The street (16 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $611.
2026-08-22Markup · changed$472.40+0.0%Entry 5
The framework has shifted from distribution to markup since the last review. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with near-perfect ethical score. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 7%. The street (16 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $611.
2026-07-22Distribution$472.40+0.0%Entry 4
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with near-perfect ethical score. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 7%. The street (16 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $611.
2026-07-18Distribution$472.40+0.0%Entry 3
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with near-perfect ethical score (97). The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 7%. The street (16 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $611.
2026-07-03Distribution$472.40+0.0%Entry 2
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with near-perfect ethical score (97). The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns.
2026-07-02Distribution$472.40Entry 1
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Ethical screening: PASS with near-perfect ethical score (97). The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.