< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team
Christyan Malek & team
Nomura International
First-Place Appearances: 9
Total Appearances: 15
Team Debut: 1994
At No. 1 for a second consecutive year are Christyan Malek, 35, and his Nomura International squad. London-based Malek and two associates in Mumbai monitor 17 regional oil services names, and one client marvels that “Christyan understands the big picture, has strong connections in the Middle East with people that matter and ties all this together with amazing company-specific analytics.” In June, following a trip to the Mideast that indicated strong growth in local capital expenditures to boost oil and gas production, the researchers upgraded their rating on British facilities operator Petrofac from neutral to buy. Although its stock subsequently tumbled 24 percent, to close at 700p in mid-January, it had outperformed its regional peers by 14 percentage points. Petrofac remains among their best buy ideas going forward, not just for its exposure to Middle East markets, but also on valuation and the company’s strengthening balance sheet. Malek and his crew assign it a price target of 1,080p. Going in the other direction, in September they downgraded France’s Technip from neutral to reduce, largely on softness in offshore drilling and its declining project pipeline. Through mid-January shares of the petroleum processing plants provider had fallen 17.9 percent, to €38.42, compared with the European sector’s decline of 25.7 percent. Nomura’s analysts peg Technip at €37. “They consistently give amazing advice on when to enter or exit trades,” another fund manager observes.