UPDATE: Jefferies Upgrades AvalonBay Communities On Robust Development Pipeline

In a report published Monday, Jefferies analyst Omotayo Okusanya upgraded the rating on

from Hold to Buy, and raised the price target from $156.00 to $195.00. In the report, Jefferies noted, “We are upgrading AVB due to its robust ($3.2B) development pipeline that we think will continue to deliver at yields (6.5%-7.0%) exceeding underwritten (6.3%) levels, combined with continued strong West Coast performance that should offset weakness in Washington D.C. AVB trades slightly above its historical average P/FFO multiple, despite the favorable outlook. We are raising our PT to $195 from $156.” AvalonBay Communities closed on Friday at $173.28.