< The 2014 All-Japan Research Team

Atsushi Takagi
Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co.
First-place appearances: 7

Total appearances: 15

Analyst debut: 2000

A presence on this lineup for 15 consecutive years, Atsushi Takagi of Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. slips to third place after three years at No. 2. “Takagi is good at explaining what really is happening in an industry with some old-fashioned practices,” relates one hedge fund manager. Takagi remains cautious on Japanese construction companies over the long term, despite projected growth ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Labor costs are still high, and the impact of short-term demand on earnings will be “relatively small,” he explains. “We wait for fundamentals to deteriorate.” Of the nine stocks this analyst covers, only one name overcomes his skepticism: Kandenko Co., a Tokyo-based builder of electricity facilities whose shares rocketed 52.8 percent last year, to ¥593, besting the sector by 4.2 percentage points. Although the stock had fallen back to ¥519 by mid-March and trailed its peers by 4.7 percentage points, Takagi is maintaining his overweight rating. The shares are undervalued, he believes, and should get a boost from a likely increase in power distribution orders.

See also Atsushi Takagi's profile in the 2013 All-Japan Research Team and the 2012 All-Japan Research Team.