Gregory Gilbert
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
Gregory Gilbert of Bank of America Merrill Lynch takes second place for a fourth year in a row. The sector is a “mixed bag,” he says, because of the wide array of business models employed by the 21 companies he follows. Gilbert is unabashedly bullish on Watson Pharmaceuticals, which he upgraded in January from neutral to buy, at $55.89, on the strength of the company’s forecast for the year ahead. In July, with the stock up 39.2 percent, to $77.78, he pounded the table, pointing to the Parsippany, New Jersey–based drugmaker’s strong second-quarter results. The shares had climbed a further 4.6 percent, to $81.35, by the end of August. Gilbert performs “excellent fundamental work,” marvels one backer.