Yanlin (Matty) Zhao
Macquarie Capital Securities
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 1

Analyst debut: 2013

Debuting in second place, Macquarie Capital Securities’ Yanlin (Matty) Zhao is judged “active and hardworking” by one buy-side fan, who notes that the analyst produces “three daily news reports and weekly data updates.” In January, Zhao downgraded China Shenhua Energy Co. from outperform to neutral, at HK$32.71. The Beijing-based integrated energy provider — which operates in the coal, port, power, railway and shipping segments — was facing headwinds from oversupply, soft demand and a “muted thermal-coal-price outlook,” she says. In July, after China Shenhua’s shares had slumped to HK$20.70, she issued a trading buy on them, deeming them oversold without formally upgrading them. The stock climbed as high as HK$27 in September before slipping to HK$23.60 at the end of October, for a loss of 31 percent since her downgrade that trailed the sector’s performance by 3.8 percentage points. Going forward, Zhao, who actively tracks 17 stocks, is bullish about the cement subsector because of low capacity additions as well as rising demand from railway and property builders. — Ben Mattlin