Bernd Laux & team
Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux
Jumping to second place after three straight years in the runner-up position is Bernd Laux’s 11-person team at Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux. The researchers, who work out of Frankfurt, report on 96 German equities and count Daimler among their current favorites. The Stuttgart-based luxury carmaker “benefits from the strongest product momentum in years, with two thirds of all vehicles being renewed between the second half of 2012 and the end of 2014,” Laux explains. “Sales volumes of recent launches already exceed expectations.” Declining production costs and an attractive valuation enhance Daimler’s appeal, he adds. In late December the shares were trading at €41.32, about 14 percent below the analysts’ current target of €48. “They have on-the-ground expertise in Germany, and their analysts are experienced, with most having a minimum of ten years in the trade,” observes one impressed investor. “I like veteran analysts who have gray hair.” — Paul Sweeney