![](https://southcarolinadigitalnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5f29f56b517e6b31ac6c0df5badf1140-780x470.jpeg)
[ad_1]
Struggling healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW) suffered yet another body blow on Wednesday. An analyst trimmed his price target on the stock, inspiring the market to sell out of it to the point where it lost more than 5% of its value. That was a notably steeper fall than the 0.6% slip of the S&P 500 index that day.
Another day, another price-target slice
Before market open, Truist Securities’ Michael Lewis cut his price target by one-third. He now feels that Medical Properties Trust is worth only $4 per share, well down from his preceding $6 estimation. The price chop didn’t affect the analyst’s view of the REIT — he still rates it as a hold.
The reasoning behind Lewis’s move wasn’t immediately clear. However, he’s not the only prognosticator getting more bearish on Medical Properties Trust. Last week his peer Stephen Manaker at Stifel (NYSE: SF) also enacted a price-target cut, albeit a less drastic one. He shaved $0.50 off his level to arrive at that same $4 per-share target. He likewise maintained his hold recommendation.
In a new research note, Manaker wrote about the REIT’s stated goal of more quickly collecting unpaid rent from its No. 1 tenant Steward Health. According to him, this is more an act of survival than a step toward recovery and makes Medical Properties Trust stock a more risky investment.
Apparently dependent on its tenant
Although pushing for Steward to pay up is a sensible move, there are several disquieting elements to Medical Properties Trust’s ambitions with the struggling tenant. It has retained a financial advisor to help it with the unpaid rent and said it’s devising a plan to help Steward right its financial ship. This suggests that Steward is a make-or-break tenant for its landlord, and just now that’s not a good situation to be in for the REIT.
Should you invest $1,000 in Medical Properties Trust right now?
Before you buy stock in Medical Properties Trust, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Medical Properties Trust wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 16, 2024
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Why Medical Properties Trust Stock Sank by More Than 5% Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
Source link