** Moody's Corp MCO.N shares rising 6.4% to $450.16 on Weds after it issued an upbeat 2026 profit forecast and its executives dismissed investor fears over potential disruption from AI

** MCO shares on course for steepest daily pct gain since Apr 9

** Co reassured investors by highlighting its proprietary data and forecast full-year adj profit of $16.40-$17.00, above analysts' avg estimate of $16.38 per LSEG

** Ratings agency also beat Q4 adj profit estimates, helped by a 17% rise in revenue at its MIS credit rating arm amid a pickup in bond market activity

** Stock recently at ~25x expected earnings, vs its 5-yr avg of ~31x, suggesting shares may be undervalued, per LSEG Datastream

** Despite rise on the session, MCO shares are down ~12% YTD, underperforming the S&P 500's .SPX 0.9% gain

** Median analyst PT of $559.50 implies ~24% upside from current levels; avg rating of 26 analysts is "buy"

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))