UPDATE: Bank of America Downgrades Medical Properties Trust to Underperform, Reiterates $16 PT on Valuation

In a report published Friday, Bank of America analyst Jana Galan downgraded the rating on Medical Properties Trust MPW from Neutral to Underperform, but reiterated the $16.00 price target. In the report, Galan noted, “We are downgrading MPW to an Underperform rating from a Neutral rating based on valuation. Year to date, MPW has been one of the best performing stocks in the REIT sector, returning +38% compared to +19% for health care REITs and +13% for all REITs. We now expect 0% total return from our $16 price objective. We think FFO multiple expansion has exceeded fundamental trends. MPW is now trading at 14.8x for 2013 FFOx, near its peak FFO multiple, compared to its 5-year and 10-year averages of 10.7x. In addition, expectations for accretive acquisitions are very high for the stock.” Medical Properties Trust closed on Thursday at $16.30.