'Rare Magnitude' For Accenture's Outlook Boost

Accenture Plc ACN shares gained more than 7 percent Thursday morning in a move driven by its increased outlook for 2015 revenue growth, an analyst said.

The Ireland-based consulting and outsourcing company expects revenue in the current year will increase between 8 percent and 10 percent, compared with its earlier outlook of between 5 percent and 8 percent.

"This magnitude of guidance increase is rare and should be enough to drive the stock higher," according to JP Morgan's Tien-tsin Huang, who maintained an Overweight rating on Accenture.

The company's latest forecast increases the estimated negative impact of foreign exchange to 8 percent, from its previous estimate of 5 percent.

For the second quarter ended February 28, the company posted net income growth of 2.9 percent to $743.2 million, or $1.08 per share. Revenue grew 5 percent to to $7.49 billion.

Accenture consulting segment saw revenue grow 13 percent to about half the company's total, which Huang called a "significant improvement."

The company's consulting business "remained firm," Huang said.

Accenture cut its 2015 adjusted earnings forecast slightly, to between $4.66 and $4.76 a share, from an earlier forecast of between $4.66 and $4.80 a share.

Wall Street expects 2015 adjusted earnings of $4.75 a share, although Huang said the Street consensus is likely "not updated for foreign exchange."