Shares of Brookdale Senior Living (Ticker: BKD) got dinged Thursday after Deutsche Bank analysts tweaked their price target for the nursing home operator to $32 from $33. That helped take down Brookdale about 3 percent on the day to $24.51, but it's still up more than 40 percent this year — mainly on the back of M&A chatter.

Analysts at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey have begun covering shares of Healthcare Realty Trust with a 'neutral' rating. That gives them plenty of company: Of the 13 other firms following West End-based Healthcare Realty, only RBC (via locally based Frank Morgan) and BMO Capital Markets have 'buy' ratings and only Cowen & Co. is telling investors to sell the company. Shares of Healthcare Realty (Ticker: HR) are up 26 percent this year.