NEW YORK, Jan 2, 2026, 09:29 ET — Premarket
- UiPath shares were down about 1.8% in premarket trading ahead of the first U.S. session of 2026.
- The automation software maker is set to enter the S&P MidCap 400 index before the opening bell.
- An SEC filing showed CEO Daniel Dines sold 90,000 shares late in December under a pre-arranged trading plan.
UiPath Inc shares were down 1.8% at $16.39 in premarket trading on Friday, as investors headed into the opening bell for the first U.S. session of 2026.
The stock is also in focus because S&P Dow Jones Indices said UiPath will replace Synovus Financial in the S&P MidCap 400 effective prior to the opening of trading on Friday, Jan. 2. S&P said the change follows Pinnacle Financial Partners’ planned acquisition of Synovus Financial, pending final closing conditions.
Index additions can drive short-term swings because funds that track an index typically need to adjust their holdings around the effective date, which can boost turnover and widen bid-ask spreads near the open.
A filing showed UiPath CEO and Chairman Daniel Dines sold 45,000 shares on Dec. 30 and another 45,000 shares on Dec. 31 at weighted average prices of $16.8211 and $16.5473, respectively — roughly $1.5 million in total. The filing showed the transactions were made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan and left him with 28,478,585 shares directly owned after the sales.
A 10b5-1 plan is a preset trading program executives use to buy or sell stock on a schedule, aiming to reduce the risk of trading on material nonpublic information.
UiPath sells robotic process automation, or RPA — software “robots” that mimic repetitive digital work such as logging into systems, copying data between applications, and updating records. The company has been pitching a broader “agentic automation” approach that combines automation with AI agents for more complex workflows.
“Enterprises are accelerating their AI and automation strategies, and they’re looking for a unified platform rather than standalone tools,” Dines said in the company’s latest earnings release. In that report, UiPath said revenue rose 16% year-on-year to $411 million for its fiscal third quarter, while it forecast fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $462 million to $467 million and non-GAAP operating income of about $140 million. SEC
For traders, Friday’s key question is whether demand tied to the index change persists beyond the initial rebalance window, or fades once positioning normalizes.
Broader risk sentiment was improving into the open, with U.S. stock index futures pointing higher and some heavyweight AI-linked names stabilizing in premarket trading, according to a Reuters market report. The same report said investors were watching a final reading of S&P Global’s economic activity survey later in the day and next week’s labor market data for clues on the interest-rate path.
That macro backdrop matters for UiPath and other growth-oriented software names because rate expectations can influence how investors value future earnings.
Into the regular session, investors will be watching the tape for outsized volume and any sharp price dislocations around the opening print as the S&P MidCap 400 change takes effect.
