BUZZ-Publicis/WPP: UBS starts with 'buy' on expected sales rebound

** UBS (LSE: 0QNR.L - news) initiates publishing peers Publicis (Paris: FR0000130577 - news) and WPP (Swiss: OXWPP.SW - news) PLC with "buy" as topline expected to rebound

** Sales recovery seen after softness in the US (largest market for both) -- UBS considers cos "attractive" and says structural threats exist but are overplayed

** "Publicis now looks attractive to us after three years of share price underperformance," UBS says, adding that growth is set to recover from Q3 and 2018 forecasts are in line with sector for first time in 4 yrs

** On WPP: "Media buying scale, proprietary data assets, digital strength, a strong geographical mix and a smaller creative exposure should see company grow broadly in line with the market"

** Sector wide, UBS forecasts revenue from top 100 advertisers to grow 4.3 pct in FY 2017 vs 0.8 pct last yr

** UBS sets Publicis PT at EUR 80.50 (v. EUR 74.50 mean of 25 analysts) and WPP PT at 2,050p (v. 1,987.50p mean of 28 analysts)

** WPP +1.6 pct and Publicis 2.4 pct higher