Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,360,000 shares, a growth of 24.9% from the January 31st total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $125.00 to $114.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.30.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARE traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.27. 994,686 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,502. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a 52 week low of $93.25 and a 52 week high of $130.14.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 1.43%. Analysts predict that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.16%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s payout ratio is 293.33%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 514.3% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the third quarter worth about $30,000. 96.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Company Profile

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.