Sunstone Hotel Shares Surge After Upgrades

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. surged but other hotel real estate investment trusts were mixed on Thursday after a JPMorgan analyst upgraded Sunstone and two other lodging REITs.

JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff boosted his rating on Sunstone to "Overweight" from "Underweight." He raised his ratings on Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. and LaSalle Hotel Properties to "Neutral" from "Underweight."

Sunstone shares jumped 64 cents, or 14.2 percent, to $5.16 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $1.87 and $21.11 during the past 52 weeks.

The rest of the sector booked strong gains earlier in the session, but moderated in afternoon trading with the broader market as automaker Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy protection.

Greff said his upgrade of Sunstone was based on improved sentiment in the lodging sector and the REIT's lagging share price performance compared with its peers, among other factors.

He noted that LaSalle, Host Hotels and other lodging companies have reported better-than-expected first-quarter results over the past couple of weeks.