Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) Shares Gap Up to $3.98

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.98, but opened at $4.10. Medical Properties Trust shares last traded at $4.34, with a volume of 7,122,283 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. BNP Paribas raised Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.59.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 49.6% in the third quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 5,065,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,200 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 93.2% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 204,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after buying an additional 98,807 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in Medical Properties Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,628,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 284.5% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 195,112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 144,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 22.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 4,317,399 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,530,000 after buying an additional 791,318 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

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.