StifelNicolaus & Co. Inc. analyst Matthew S. Heinz cut his investment opinionof QTS Realty TrustInc. to "hold" from "buy."

The analyst wrote in a research report: "We reduce ourrating on QTS shares … as the stock approaches our $53 target price. Althoughwe continue to regard QTS as a premium growth franchise in the space, webelieve the current valuation of ~18x our 2017E AFFO fairly discounts thecompany's near-term growth prospects. QTS shares are up 50% (total return) overthe last twelve months, compared to an 8% return for the RMZ and -3% for theSPX."