Moody's dips after Raymond James downgrades to 'underperform'

Moodys

23/09/2024 11:07

** Shares of ratings agency Moody's  MCO.N  fall 1.2% to
$488.85 premarket
    ** Raymond James downgrades MCO to "underperform" from
"market perform", saying consensus estimates are too high for
ratings business revenue for 2025 and beyond 
    ** Brokerage says that despite impressive strength so far
this year, the bull case for MCO's ratings business is unlikely
to be realized
    ** Adds that the long-term growth rate for ratings business
has likely shifted lower in recent years due to a number of
factors including the rapid rise of private credit and higher
interest rates
    ** Rapid growth in unrated private credit lending has likely
come at the expense of rated debt activity - Raymond James 
    ** Eleven of 21 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher
and 10 "hold"; their median PT is $473.33 - LSEG data
    ** As of last close, MCO shares up 26.7% YTD

 (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
 ((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))