Macerich upgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley on path to lower leverage

Morgan Stanley analyst Ronald Kamdem upgraded Macerich (MAC) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $20 price target The firm sees “a clearer path to reducing leverage” under new leadership, which was a key overhang for shares. This is also happening at a time where mall fundamentals are improving, the analyst argues. While the $1.80 FFO per share target in three to four years comes with high execution risk, the firm expects the valuation discount to peers to narrow on early signs of progress, the analyst says.