As previously reported, Morgan Stanley analyst Vikram Malhotra upgraded Select Income REIT (SIR) to Equal Weight from Underweight citing the announcement of its plans to merge with Government Properties Income Trust (GOV) to create a REIT focused on owning and operating office buildings primarily leased to single tenants, including government entities. The deal also aims to reduce the complicated ownership structure between Government Properties, Select Income and Industrial Logistics Property Trust (ILPT), Malhotra noted. While he raised his price target on Select Income to $24, he lowered his price target on Government Properties to $11.50 from $13 and keeps an Underweight rating on its shares. The analyst continues to see ongoing risks to growth, driven by lower renewal rates and limited pricing power, and risks to its debt reduction plans, noting that the company intends to sell over $1B in assets during the next 6-9 months to reduce leverage.