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2. Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) has declined 1.49% as of 1:16 PM ET after the New York-based credit rating agency was downgraded from an Overweight to a Neutral rating by Simon Clinch at Atlantic Equities. The analyst also reduced the price target on Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) from $370 to $298. Clinch used the S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) decision to suspend its 2022 outlook as the basis for the downgrade. During the conferences conducted by both credit rating agencies last week, it became clearer that there is a significant weakness in global issuance.

Here’s what Qualivian Investment Partners said about Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in its Q2 2021 investor letter:

“Moody’s: Revenue, operating profit margins, and EPS all exceeded expectations, and annual guidance for these items (and for free cash flow) was raised. In MIS (Moody’s Investors Service) which houses the traditional ratings business, the outlook for debt issuance was raised for the remainder of the year, while MA (Moody’s Analytics) also came in ahead of expectations. The company leveraged strong revenue growth with strong operating profit margin improvement of 200 bps, with EPS coming in $0.22 ahead of consensus estimates. Management alluded to having interesting opportunities in their M&A pipeline, which we will have to assess when the time comes, but Moody’s management team has been very effective at allocating capital in the past toward value-creating bolt-on acquisitions, especially in their Moody’s Analytics business, a key growth driver for the company.”

At the end of Q1 2022, Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) was held by 56 hedge funds.