Piper Jaffray Overweight on Moody's

Piper Jaffray is out with a research report on Moody's Corporation MCO and it has a Overweight rating and a $45 price target on shares. In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "While financial market turmoil, particularly in Europe, creates a more challenging near-term earnings environment for Moody's we remain enthusiastic about the prospects for upside in MCO shares over the next 12 months in the context of attractive secular growth prospects, manageable regulatory risk, fading litigation worries, compelling cash flow characteristics, an exceptionally high ROIC, and a historically low current valuation." Shares of MCO gained 48 cents on Friday to close at $32.88.