ESRT - Paramount Group raised to Neutral at Evercore on leasing updates CXP deal

Evercore ISI analyst Steve Sakwa upgrades Paramount Group (PGRE +1.5%) to In Line from Underperform in light of recent leasing updates, the recently announced acquisition of Columbia Property Trust by Pimco, and PGRE's "sharply lagging stock price." The Columbia Property acquisition of $19.30 per share implies the price of its service real estate at $681 per square foot, according to Evercore analyst Sheila Mcgrath's note. "Given PGRE's current stock price of $9.17, its implied price is just $587 per square foot, suggesting a 16% discount compared to the  CXP comp," Sakwa writes. Still, he remains cautious about the New York City office leasing outlook. The company's leasing environment remains challenged, he says, but the company has been able to fill 190K square feet of former Barclays' space at 1301 Sixth Ave. His In Line rating agrees with the Quant rating of Neutral; while the average Wall Street rating on PGRE

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Paramount Group raised to Neutral at Evercore on leasing updates, CXP deal