# Credit Rating Change Tracker (`gochujang/credit-rating-tracker`) Actor

Track S\&P, Moody's, and Fitch credit rating upgrades, downgrades, and outlook changes for US companies. Sourced from SEC 8-K filings. No API key needed.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/gochujang/credit-rating-tracker.md
- **Developed by:** [Hojun Lee](https://apify.com/gochujang) (community)
- **Categories:** Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 rating action returneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Credit Rating Change Tracker

**Credit Rating Change Tracker** monitors **S\&P, Moody's, and Fitch credit rating upgrades, downgrades, and outlook changes** disclosed in SEC 8-K filings. When a public company's credit rating is changed by a major agency, they must disclose it within 4 business days — this actor captures those disclosures as they arrive, giving you a real-time stream of **rating actions** across all US public issuers.

***

### Why use Credit Rating Change Tracker?

1. **Fixed income portfolio monitoring** — Instantly alert on rating changes for bonds you hold. A downgrade from BBB- to BB+ ("fallen angel") can trigger forced selling by investment-grade-only funds.
2. **Credit spread trading** — Rating actions typically precede CDS spread moves. Catch the action before the spread widens.
3. **Fallen angel / rising star tracking** — Automatically flag any issuer crossing the investment-grade/high-yield boundary in either direction.
4. **M\&A due diligence** — Pull a target company's full rating history to assess credit quality trends before an acquisition.
5. **Sector-level credit stress detection** — Cluster downgrades by industry to identify which sectors are under credit pressure before the equity market reacts.

***

### How to use

1. Open the actor on Apify Store and click **Try for free**.
2. Set `daysBack` (default 30) to define your lookback window.
3. Optionally filter by `agency` (S\&P, Moody's, or Fitch) or `action` (upgrade, downgrade, etc.).
4. Paste comma-separated company names into `issuers` to restrict to specific companies.
5. Click **Start**. Results are a flat list of rating actions extracted from 8-K filings.

***

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `daysBack` | number | `30` | How far back to search SEC EDGAR 8-K filings |
| `agency` | string | `""` | Filter by agency: `"S&P"`, `"Moody's"`, `"Fitch"` (empty = all three) |
| `action` | string | `""` | Filter by action: `"upgrade"`, `"downgrade"`, `"affirmation"`, `"outlook_change"`, `"watch"` |
| `investmentGradeOnly` | boolean | `false` | Only return issuers rated BBB-/Baa3 or above |
| `issuers` | string | `""` | Comma-separated company names to restrict search (e.g. `"Ford Motor,GM"`) |
| `maxResults` | number | `50` | Maximum number of rating actions to return |

***

### Output

Each record represents one rating action extracted from a SEC 8-K filing:

```json
{
  "entity_name": "Ford Motor Company",
  "filing_date": "2026-08-14",
  "agency": "Moody's",
  "action": "downgrade",
  "new_rating": "Ba1",
  "outlook": "negative",
  "watch_status": null,
  "investment_grade": false,
  "accession_no": "0000037996-26-000221",
  "filing_url": "https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=..."
}
```

#### Output fields

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `entity_name` | string | Issuer company name from SEC EDGAR |
| `filing_date` | string | Date the 8-K was filed (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `agency` | string | Rating agency: `S&P`, `Moody's`, or `Fitch` |
| `action` | string | `upgrade`, `downgrade`, `affirmation`, `watch`, `outlook_change` |
| `new_rating` | string | New credit rating (e.g. `BBB+`, `Baa2`, `A-`) |
| `outlook` | string | `positive`, `negative`, `stable`, `developing` (if disclosed) |
| `watch_status` | string | `creditwatch_negative`, `watch_positive`, etc. (if applicable) |
| `investment_grade` | boolean | `true` if rated BBB-/Baa3 or above |
| `accession_no` | string | SEC 8-K accession number for the source filing |
| `filing_url` | string | Link to SEC EDGAR filing page |

***

### Rating scales

| S\&P / Fitch | Moody's | Category |
|-------------|---------|----------|
| AAA | Aaa | Prime (investment grade) |
| AA+/AA/AA- | Aa1/Aa2/Aa3 | High grade |
| A+/A/A- | A1/A2/A3 | Upper medium grade |
| BBB+/BBB/BBB- | Baa1/Baa2/Baa3 | Lower medium grade (IG floor) |
| BB+/BB/BB- | Ba1/Ba2/Ba3 | High yield / speculative |
| B+/B/B- | B1/B2/B3 | Highly speculative |
| CCC and below | Caa and below | Substantial risk / distressed |

***

### Cost estimation

**Pay-Per-Event: $0.005 per actor start + $0.01 per rating action returned.**

| Use case | Actions | Estimated cost |
|----------|---------|----------------|
| 30-day market sweep | ~30–60 | $0.30–$0.60/run |
| 90-day history | ~100–200 | $1.00–$2.00/run |
| Single company history | 5–20 | $0.05–$0.20/run |
| Daily monitoring | ~5–15/day | $0.05–$0.15/day |

***

### FAQ

**Does this cover all three major agencies (S\&P, Moody's, Fitch)?**
Yes — the actor searches for 8-K filings that mention any of the three agencies and extracts the rating details from the text.

**How quickly does new data appear after a rating change?**
SEC rules require 8-K filing within 4 business days of a material credit rating change. Most are filed within 1-2 days.

**Does it catch outlook changes and creditwatch additions?**
Yes — `action` can be `outlook_change` or `watch` in addition to `upgrade`/`downgrade`.

**What's the difference between a watch and an outlook change?**
A **watch** (CreditWatch/Review) signals a potential short-term rating change (usually resolved within 90 days). An **outlook** reflects the longer-term direction (12-24 months).

***

### Related actors

- [Corporate Bond Issuance Tracker](https://apify.com/gochujang/bond-issuance-tracker) — New debt issuances by companies; credit rating affects spreads
- [SEC Enforcement Actions Tracker](https://apify.com/gochujang/sec-enforcement-tracker) — SEC fraud and regulatory actions that can precede downgrades
- [Short Interest Tracker](https://apify.com/gochujang/short-interest-tracker) — High short interest often correlates with credit stress

### Feedback

If this actor is useful, a quick review helps other analysts find it: [Leave a review on Apify Store](https://apify.com/gochujang/credit-rating-tracker#reviews)

***

**Keywords:** credit rating tracker, S\&P rating upgrade downgrade, Moody's rating change, Fitch credit rating, sovereign bond rating, corporate bond rating, credit outlook change, credit watch alert, fixed income risk monitoring, macro credit events, bond rating scraper, credit rating data

# Actor input Schema

## `issuers` (type: `string`):

Specific company names to look up rating actions for.

## `agency` (type: `string`):

Filter by agency: all, sp, moodys, fitch.

## `action` (type: `string`):

Filter by action: all, upgrade, downgrade, affirmation, watch, outlook_change.

## `daysBack` (type: `integer`):

Number of days back to search.

## `investmentGradeOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only return investment grade issuers (BBB-/Baa3 and above).

## `keyword` (type: `string`):

Filter by keyword in filing.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of rating actions to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "issuers": "",
  "agency": "all",
  "action": "all",
  "daysBack": 30,
  "investmentGradeOnly": false,
  "keyword": "",
  "maxResults": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("gochujang/credit-rating-tracker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("gochujang/credit-rating-tracker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call gochujang/credit-rating-tracker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,gochujang/credit-rating-tracker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/zxq8MtUmckEvlxx0X/builds/ott7VfdmLkUfh2Anh/openapi.json