MAA upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA

BofA analyst Joshua Dennerlein double upgraded MAA (MAA) to Buy from Underperform with a price target of $189, up from $144. The firm says a a recent portfolio trade in Sunbelt, Equity Residential’s (EQR) $964M acquisition of an apartment portfolio, implies that MAA trades at a significant discount. The deal came in around a five cap rate, which compares to MAA’s current implied cap rate of 6.0%, which undervalues MAA, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says MAA’s valuation is “hard to ignore despite fundamental risks.”