Accenture Stock Rides An 8-Day Winning Streak To A 20% Gain

Accenture (ACN) stock has risen for 8 consecutive trading days, gaining 19.7% over that stretch. That added about $23.2 billion to the company's market value, which now stands at about $140.6 billion. The stock closed at $229.68 on Friday, October 16, 18.1% below its 52-week high of $280.46 and 88.3% above its low of $121.98.

ACN Versus The S&P 500

Returns for ACN and the S&P 500 over the streak and the periods around it, all ending Friday, October 16 and including dividends:

Is This Move About Accenture Or The Market?

Over the same 8 trading days, the S&P 500 returned -2.0% including dividends, so the run is mostly Accenture's own story rather than the market's. 5 other S&P 500 stocks are currently on winning streaks of 8 days or longer. Over the past three months the stock is up 60.0%, a window that includes the streak; over the other 55 sessions of that window it was up 33.6%.

Is The Business Keeping Up With The Stock?

On the fundamentals, revenue grew 6.7% over the last twelve months, against a median of 17.9% for S&P 500 Information Technology stocks; its operating margin is 15.8%, versus a median of 21.6%; and the stock trades at 18.1 times trailing earnings against a median of 34.0. The read is mixed: a multiple below the median on one side, revenue growth below the median and margins below the median on the other.

If you are looking for strength with more behind it than a hot tape, our Guidance Momentum screen surfaces the names where management raised its own outlook.

For anyone who would rather back the theme than one company, a U.S. industrials ETF like IYJ holds the whole group, not just this stock. It is still a concentrated bet on one theme, which is the gap the portfolio below is built to close.

Momentum Is A Tailwind, Not A Plan

Riding a stock that rises every day feels effortless, and that is precisely the danger: the same momentum that built this run can reverse without notice, and one name's reversal should never be able to reset your whole year.

That is what the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is for: about 30 quality businesses screened for the fundamentals that survive momentum's mood swings, held with rules. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Watch the runs; own the resilience.