| | | A.M. (Toni) Sacconaghi | Sanford C.
Bernstein & Co. | First-place appearances: 12 Total appearances: 14 Analyst debut: 2001 |
Since 2002, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.’s A.M. (Toni) Sacconaghi has been the sector champ. The Hall of Famer, 48, “stands above all others in his thoughtful analysis” marvels one client. Valuations are attractive, Sacconaghi reports, but investors must be selective. He covers six names and maintains a long-term stance, favoring Apple, EMC Corp. and IBM Corp. Through year-end, Apple and Palo Alto, California’s Hewlett-Packard Co. offer the most upside potential, he believes. The analyst has long held an outperform rating on the latter. Shares of the diversified systems provider traded down to a 20-month low of $11.71 in November, then rose to close the year at $14.25. Sacconaghi stayed his contrarian course. “Our thesis was, and remains, that the stock was simply too inexpensive, as the least expensive stock in the S&P 500 then and now, and that either CEO Meg Whitman would fix the company or pressure would mount to break up the company, which is worth over $30 a share as separate parts,” he explains. HP nearly doubled from that bottom through August, to $22.34, trouncing the sector by 93.9 percentage points. — Pam Baker |
