Wells Fargo upgraded Accenture’s (ACN) rating to Overweight from Equal Weight while maintaining its $275 price target on the stock.
Shares of Accenture rose about 1% on Tuesday.
Analysts led by Jason Kupferberg said they upgraded the rating on: fiscal second-half revenue acceleration; conservative fiscal 2026 guidance; overblown AI fears; and valuation.
The analysts added that recent booking trends are encouraging, and Accenture could be poised for solid fiscal second-quarter results next month.
The Irish consulting services provider is slated to report its fiscal second-quarter results on March 19.
The analysts noted that they have increased confidence in fiscal second-quarter constant currency revenue growth acceleration, given two consecutive quarters of improved bookings growth, positive incremental discretionary spending commentary from peers, and easier comps.
In addition, the analysts said they view Accenture’s fiscal 2026 revenue guidance (which at the high end assumed no improvement in discretionary spending) as conservative. The analysts think the recent AI fears (spilling over from Software) are overblown and added that the valuation is attractive.
“Shares have been excessively punished recently due to latest round of AI fears, spilling over from anti-software sentiment. While ACN is not immune to AI headline risks we see ACN as well-positioned to emerge as a net beneficiary (sticky C-level client relationships, track record of navigating past tech paradigm shifts). CC revs [revenues] growth accel [acceleration] would support this thesis, catalyzing multiple expansion. F1Q AI-related revs/bkgs [revenue/bookings] grew 120%/83% though ACN is discontinuing such disclosures going forward,” said Kupferberg and his team.