Alexandria Swats Away Short Seller Talk As Revenues Rise 11% Earnings calls for life sciences juggernaut Alexandria Real Estate Equities traditionally hinge on how various metrics confirm if the life sciences REIT performed great or simply good. Tuesday's second-quarter call included that aspect: ARE signed 1.3M SF of leases, above its historical average, grew total revenues to $713.9M — a 10.9% year-over-year jump — and saw net operating income grow nearly $200M. Occupancy stayed steady at 93.6%. This time, however, the company's executives also made a point to argue about electricity bills. ARE's decision to directly address a report released last month by activist investor Jonathan Litt, who utilized cellphone data to argue that life sciences spaces are as overvalued as office space, underscores that the sector is in a much different market landscape. 
As supply has increased across the board due to weaker demand — what Chairman Joel Marcus called a “moderately elevated supply dynamic environment” — questions are being raised about the performance of life sciences real estate. During the Q2 earning’s call, Alexandria addressed Litt’s report directly, arguing…  Read the full story here. | 
