UPDATE: KeyBanc Capital Markets Initiates Buy, $10.50 PT on Retail Properties of America; Shopping REIT Opportunity

KeyBanc Capital Markets initiates its coverage on Retail Properties of America RPAI with a Buy rating and a price target of $10.50. KeyBanc Capital Markets notes, "We view RPAI as a high-beta way to play a slow and gradual recovery in the shopping center sector. Though the Company has clawed back approximately 300 basis points of occupancy since its trough in 2009, occupancy sits at 88%, well below peers' occupancy that is in the low-90%s. Encouragingly, there is an additional 260 basis points of leased gross leasable area (GLA) expected to come online in the quarters ahead, while leasing activity remains steady as demand for small shop space has begun to accelerate." RPAI closed at $9.11 yesterday.