Oct 21 (Reuters) - Real estate investment trust

Alexandria Real Estate Equities ( ARE ) beat Wall Street

estimates for third-quarter funds from operations (FFO) on

Monday, driven by higher occupancy.

Alexandria's occupancy of operating properties in North

America as of Sept. 30 stood at 94.7%, compared with 93.7% a

year earlier.

The Pasadena, California-based company operates and develops

life science laboratories, offices and technology campuses

across North America.

Its clients include Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY ), Moderna ( MRNA )

and Eli Lilly ( LLY ), as well as agricultural tech

companies and research institutions.

Third-quarter adjusted FFO came in at $2.37 per share, above

analysts' estimates of $2.33 per share, according to data

compiled by LSEG.

Following an increase in healthcare research funding towards

the end of the quarter - spurred by federal rate cuts - leasing

demand for life sciences real estate is set to improve.

The life science REIT narrowed its full-year adjusted FFO to

be in the range of $9.45 to $9.49 per share from an earlier

forecast of $9.41 to $9.53 per share, maintaining a mid-point of

$9.47, which is above analysts' average estimate of $9.31.

Alexandria's total revenue for the quarter rose nearly 11%

to $791.6 million, compared with estimates of $766.7 million.