Why Moody's (MCO) Stock Is Down Today

Moody's Corporation (MCO) is down 3.1% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement. ([ir.moodys.com](https://ir.moodys.com/press-releases/news-details/2026/Date-Set-For-Moodys-Earnings-Release-And-Investor-Teleconference-a3dde2ae3/default.aspx))

Analysis: The most likely driver appears to be positioning ahead of Moody's second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, rather than a fresh company-specific negative announcement. This could also be because expectations were already elevated after strong recent results and full-year guidance, making the stock more vulnerable to pre-earnings profit-taking in a cautious market backdrop. ([ir.moodys.com](https://ir.moodys.com/press-releases/news-details/2026/Date-Set-For-Moodys-Earnings-Release-And-Investor-Teleconference-a3dde2ae3/default.aspx))

Details:

Moody's said it will release second-quarter 2026 results before the start of NYSE trading on July 22, 2026, with a management teleconference scheduled for 9:00 a.m. ET. ([ir.moodys.com](https://ir.moodys.com/press-releases/news-details/2026/Date-Set-For-Moodys-Earnings-Release-And-Investor-Teleconference-a3dde2ae3/default.aspx))

In its first-quarter 2026 materials, Moody's maintained adjusted diluted EPS guidance of $16.40 to $17.00 and free cash flow guidance of $2.8 billion to $3.0 billion, which suggests investors were heading into this report with relatively high expectations. ([s203.q4cdn.com](https://s203.q4cdn.com/694693571/files/doc_financials/2026/q1/1Q26-Earnings-Release-vFINAL.pdf))

Moody's fourth-quarter 2025 revenue rose 13% to $1.9 billion, and full-year 2025 revenue reached $7.7 billion, reinforcing the idea that the business had entered earnings season with strong momentum already reflected in the share price. ([s203.q4cdn.com](https://s203.q4cdn.com/694693571/files/doc_financials/2025/q4/4Q25-Earnings-Release-vFINAL.pdf))

The broader U.S. market recently turned more cautious as investors weighed geopolitical tension and a busy earnings calendar, which may have added pressure to premium-valued financial and information-services names. ([au.marketscreener.com](https://au.marketscreener.com/news/stocks-fall-as-oil-gains-iran-tensions-earnings-in-focus-ce7f51dbdc80f421))

Sources:

Moody's Investor Relations, SEC, MarketScreener ([ir.moodys.com](https://ir.moodys.com/press-releases/news-details/2026/Date-Set-For-Moodys-Earnings-Release-And-Investor-Teleconference-a3dde2ae3/default.aspx))

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$MCO Insider Trading Activity

$MCO insiders have traded $MCO stock on the open market 15 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 15 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $MCO stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

ROBERT FAUBER (President and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 7 sales selling 9,314 shares for an estimated $4,322,985.
MICHAEL L WEST (President, Moody's Investors) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 7,577 shares for an estimated $3,590,640.
RICHARD G STEELE (SVP - General Counsel) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 691 shares for an estimated $316,635.
JASON D PHILLIPS (Chief Acctg Off & Controller) sold 333 shares for an estimated $157,437
NOEMIE CLEMENCE HEULAND (SVP & Chief Financial Officer) sold 100 shares for an estimated $46,587

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

$MCO Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 564 institutional investors add shares of $MCO stock to their portfolio, and 646 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

TCI FUND MANAGEMENT LTD added 1,025,548 shares (+7.7%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $447,395,315
BLACKROCK, INC. removed 901,973 shares (-6.4%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $393,485,721
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC added 671,374 shares (+45.2%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $292,886,907
FMR LLC removed 489,542 shares (-8.9%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $213,562,697
AKRE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC removed 489,117 shares (-28.2%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $213,377,291
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC added 454,684 shares (+72.5%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $198,355,895
BARCLAYS PLC removed 440,114 shares (-38.3%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $191,999,732

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$MCO Government Contracts

We have seen $22,569,205 of award payments to $MCO over the last year.

Here are some of the awards which we have have seen pay out the most over the last year:

CREDIT REPORT PULLS, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE (O&M); DEVELOPMENT, MODERNIZATION, AND ENHANCEMENT (DME) SE...: $5,500,000
CREDIT LENS, RISK CALC AND MORTGAGE PORTFOLIO ANALYZER TOOLS FOR THE INNOVATION CENTER: $2,403,634
CONTINUED MAINTENANCE AND LICENSING OF THE CREDITLENS SOFTWARE PER SOLICITATION 77344422Q0031.: $1,523,432
MOODY'S ANALYTICS SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: $1,119,548
COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE AND CLIMATE (CARMAC) DATA SUBSCRIPTION: $969,687

To track government contracts to publicy traded companies, check out Quiver Quantitative's government contracts dashboard. You can access data on government contracts through the Quiver Quantitative API government contracts endpoint.

$MCO Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $MCO recently. We have seen 10 analysts offer price targets for $MCO in the last 6 months, with a median target of $536.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Jeffrey Silber from BMO Capital set a target price of $515.0 on 07/07/2026
Toni Kaplan from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $496.0 on 07/07/2026
Sean Kennedy from Mizuho set a target price of $521.0 on 04/28/2026
Jason Haas from Wells Fargo set a target price of $590.0 on 04/23/2026
Manav Patnaik from Barclays set a target price of $550.0 on 02/23/2026
Shlomo Rosenbaum from Stifel set a target price of $540.0 on 02/19/2026
David Motemeden from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $610.0 on 02/19/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.