Gary Taylor
Citi
It’s six years in a row in second place for Citi’s Gary Taylor, who “had strong conviction about hospital stocks” heading into the Supreme Court ruling about the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to one money manager — and “he backed up his recommendations with insightful data.” Taylor upgraded HCA Holdings from hold to buy in June, at $26.09. He believed the market was pricing in the expectation that the high court would rule against the act and that the Nashville, Tennessee–based hospital operator’s stock would trade higher if the act were upheld — which it was. HCA shares jumped to $30.43 the day after the ruling was issued but slipped back to $28.55, for a 9.4 percent advance since the upgrade, through August. Taylor remains bullish on the stock but cautious on the sector owing to uncertainty about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election and the year-end fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases. “We’d view an Obama win as very positive for the stocks, as it would lead to a nearly $2 trillion increase in federal health care spending over the next decade,” he says.