Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Stock Rating Upgraded by BNP Paribas

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) was upgraded by equities researchers at BNP Paribas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $9.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $5.00. BNP Paribas’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 55.04% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.64.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

MPW opened at $5.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.38, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.32. Medical Properties Trust has a 52-week low of $3.51 and a 52-week high of $6.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total transaction of $43,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 366,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,916.36. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPW. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the third quarter worth about $927,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 21.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,704,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,973,000 after buying an additional 303,628 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 192.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 285,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 187,500 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 506.8% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 63,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 52,790 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 353.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,525,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,625,000 after buying an additional 2,748,245 shares during the period. 71.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023.