Hisashi Moriyama J.P. Morgan

Leaping from runner-up to the second team, Hisashi Moriyama of J.P. Morgan is “always in touch with shifting winds, and has a great feel for when trends are changing for the better or worse,” explains one buy-side supporter. Moriyama upgraded Tokyo Electron from neutral to overweight in August, at ¥3,375, following a sell-off after the company slashed its net income forecast for the fiscal year ended in March nearly in half, to ¥34 billion ($412.6 million), on slowing demand for computers; at the same time, Tokyo Electron’s executive team projected a recovery in the first half of this year. The Tokyo-based chip-making-equipment manufacturer’s shares surged 33.6 percent, to ¥4,510, and shot past the sector by 19.1 percentage points, through February.  — Ben Mattlin