Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Short Interest Down 17.2% in January

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,105,494 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the January 15th total of 2,541,719 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 688,364 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 688,364 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $540.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $574.00 price target on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.81.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO traded up $26.87 on Wednesday, hitting $450.09. 2,358,050 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,300,258. The firm has a market cap of $80.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $499.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.11. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Moody’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat across EPS and revenue — non‑GAAP EPS $3.64 vs. consensus ~ $3.39, revenue $1.89B and revenue +13% YoY; management cited rising analytics demand and strong issuance volume as drivers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 EPS guidance raised/published at $16.40–$17.00, which comes in slightly ahead of consensus (~$16.47) — suggests continued top‑line momentum and margin confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage: Bank of America initiated coverage with a Buy and a $550 price target, providing a near‑term catalyst and supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic expansion: Moody’s established a regional HQ in Riyadh to deepen Middle East presence and capture growth from Saudi capital‑markets reforms (longer‑term growth opportunity). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Expenses edged higher in the quarter as Moody’s scales new technologies across businesses; management commentary/transcript available for details on investment timing versus margin recovery. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat and guidance, the stock remains below its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages, reflecting recent valuation pressure and private credit growth concerns that analysts have debated — a possible headwind for further upside until technicals improve. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total value of $305,560.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.