As part of its efforts to offer innovative environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) and know your customer (“KYC”) solutions to the financial markets of China, Moody's Corporation MCO has acquired a minority stake in MioTech. MioTech is a provider of alternative data and insights that serves the China ESG and KYC markets.Moody’s used cash to fund the investment, which is not expected to have any material impact on its 2020 results.Min Ye, the managing director and head of International for Moody’s, stated, “MioTech’s leading technology platform collates and analyzes an impressive range of company, industry, ESG, and KYC data from a variety of public sources to provide relevant information to customers. Our partnership will provide valuable data, analytics, and insights to China’s domestic risk and investment markets.”Using artificial intelligence (“AI”), MioTech tracks and scans alternative data sources related to ESG and KYC factors, supply chains, and financial information for various public and private companies in China. Its analytical tools help in turning unstructured datasets into insights for portfolio managers, research analysts, and risk managers. Moreover, its AI algorithms help in detecting entities’ vulnerabilities by monitoring news, social media, disclosure, and other forms of alternative data in real time.MioTech’s CEO and co-founder, Jason Tu said, “MioTech looks forward to an exciting partnership with Moody’s. Moody’s deep industry know-how will further strengthen MioTech’s data and technology across different sectors and geographies.”Notably, MioTech is expected to continue to operate as an independent entity.Our TakeMoody’s continues to grow inorganically. Its acquisitions over the past years have provided it with increased scale and cross-selling opportunities across products and vertical markets.Last month, it purchased Acquire Media, an aggregator and distributor of curated real-time news, multimedia, data, and alerts, from Naviga, Inc. The deal, which complements Moody’s earlier acquisitions of Bureau van Dijk and Regulatory DataCorp, advances the Moody’s Analytics (“MA”) segment’s position as a leader in KYC solutions.Notably, these inorganic growth efforts are expected to aid revenue diversification and also be accretive to earnings. In fact, Moody’s is expected to continue to pursue opportunistic deals that are a strategic fit and complement its existing operations.Over the past year, shares of the company have gained 32.3% against a decline of 12.6% recorded by the industry. Currently, Moody’s carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.A few other top-ranked stocks from the finance space are mentioned below.Waddell & Reed Financial WDR currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2020 earnings has been revised upward by 15.2% in the past 30 days. Also, its share price has increased 21.7% in the past six months.Invesco IVZ also flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1. Its earnings estimates for the current year have been revised 9.6% upward over the past 30 days. Further, the company’s shares have jumped 80.4% in the past six months.The Blackstone Group’s BX earnings estimates for 2020 have been revised upward by 20.9% over the past 30 days. Its shares have gained 7.4% over the past six months. At present, the company carries a Zacks Rank #2.These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the PandemicThe COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Moodys Corporation (MCO): Free Stock Analysis Report Waddell Reed Financial, Inc. (WDR): Free Stock Analysis Report Blackstone Group IncThe (BX): Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco Ltd. (IVZ): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research