UPDATE: JP Morgan Upgrades Host Hotels & Resorts to Overweight on Outlook

JP Morgan raised its rating on Host Hotels & Resorts

from Neutral to Overweight and increased its price target from $17 to $20. JP Morgan noted, "Our new, increasingly positive view on HST is based on (1) fairly low investor expectations for 2013 RevPAR growth (we estimate buy-side expectations are for 4% versus our expectation for 5%+ growth); (2) lack of sizable renovation activity/disruption in 2013 relative to 2012 as well as the benefits derived from HST's 2012 capex, giving it potential above-peer growth; (3) attractive discount to our estimated net asset values—~26% discount to transaction values and ~41% to replacement cost." Host Hotels & Resorts closed at $16.14 on Wednesday.