Why Simon Property Group Stock Rose Nearly 10% on June 29
Shares of mall-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) rose just shy of 10% on June 29. At roughly 2 p.m. Wall Street time, they were still up in the high single digits. Simon, however, was hardly alone in its spirited advance; the broader market was up sharply, too, as were peers Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (NYSE: SKT) and Macerich (NYSE: MAC).
Simon has been in the news a lot lately. As the country's largest publicly traded mall owners (it operates about 200 enclosed malls and factory outlet centers), it has been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis. The bellwether name in the industry, investors and peers alike look to see what Simon is doing, and to ascertain the success the industry is having in reopening following the social distancing and nonessential business closures that were used to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Progress has been, at best, mixed.) The REIT is also attempting to get out of a merger with Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO) that it agreed to prior to COVID-19's global spread. That effort is likely to end up in court, since Tabuman isn't so keen on giving up on the deal. (For reference, Taubman shares were little changed at 2 p.m.)
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