AstraZeneca plc vs Moody's Corporation — how do they compare? AstraZeneca plc trades at $158.1 (market cap $248.14B), while Moody's Corporation trades at $476.26 (market cap $82.52B). The key difference: AstraZeneca plc is far larger — about 3× Moody's Corporation's market cap, and AstraZeneca plc pays the higher dividend (2.01%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AZN | MCO | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $248.14B | $82.52B |
Sector | Health | Financials |
52-Week High | $209.48 | $539.61 |
52-Week Low | $147.06 | $412.23 |
Enterprise Value | $275.41B | $88.54B |
Dividend Yield | 2.01% | 0.86% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
AstraZeneca (AZN) trades at $161.91, up 0.3% on the day, amid mixed technical signals and strong fundamental performance. The stock exhibits a bearish technical trend with key support at $161 and resistance at $163, while recent earnings consistently beat expectations with Q2 2026 EPS of $2.63 versus $2.50 estimated. Revenue growth has been robust, climbing from $44.4B in 2022 to $58.7B in 2025, with a net income margin of 17.4% in 2025. Recent news centers on potential merger discussions with Bristol Myers Squibb, though reports on August 5, 2026, from Reuters indicate no current talks.
The outlook for AZN is cautiously optimistic, driven by solid profitability and analyst support, but tempered by merger-related volatility and a bearish technical setup. Investment opportunities lie in its high gross margin of 81.88% and positive earnings trajectory, while risks include integration challenges from any future acquisitions and market sensitivity to deal speculation. The stock's valuation at a P/E of 23.76 appears reasonable given its growth profile.
Moody's Corporation (MCO) trades at $478.14, showing modest daily gains of 0.08%. The stock demonstrates strong fundamental performance with consistent earnings beats and robust profitability metrics, including 34.25% net income margin and 80.15% ROE. Recent Q2 2026 results exceeded expectations with $4.68 EPS versus $4.26 expected, driven by strong analytics demand and debt issuance activity. Technical indicators remain neutral with support at $475 and resistance at $481.
MCO presents a compelling growth story with premium valuation justified by exceptional profitability and market leadership. The primary investment opportunity lies in sustained analytics growth and credit rating dominance, while risks include valuation sensitivity and potential debt market volatility. Analyst consensus remains bullish with $561.88 price target representing 17.5% upside potential from current levels.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
A merger between Astra of Sweden and Zeneca Group of the United Kingdom formed AstraZeneca in 1999. The firm sells branded drugs across several major therapeutic classes, including gastrointestinal, diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer, and immunology. The majority of sales come from international markets with the United States representing close to one third of its sales.
Read more on AZN →Moody's, along with S&P Ratings, is a leading provider of credit ratings on fixed income securities. Moody's ratings segment, known as Moody's Investors Service or MIS, includes corporates, structured finance, financial institutions, and public finance ratings. MIS represents a majority of the firm's revenue and profits. Moody's other segment is Moody's Analytics and consists of Research, Data, and Analytics or RD&A and Enterprise Risk Solutions or ERS. RD&A's products include credit research, quantitative credit scores, economic research, business intelligence, know your customer (KYC) tools, commercial real estate data and analytical tools, and training services. ERS includes risk management software solutions to financial institutions.
Read more on MCO →