< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team
José Asumendi & team
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
First-place appearances: 4
Total appearances: 8
Team debut: 1995
At No. 2 on this list is J.P. Morgan Cazenove, which improves on its third-place showing last year. From its base in London, the firm’s duo led by José Asumendi, 37, tracks 16 regional autos and auto parts equities, providing “excellent bottom-up color on each company and each management team’s history, as well as investors’ buying and selling habits for the stock,” as one client says. In November 2014 the analysts predicted that France’s Peugeot would continue to benefit from a recovery in European autos markets, thanks to its pricing power, management’s cost-saving measures and the automaker’s free-cash-flow generation. Indeed, eight months later, Peugeot reported that year-over-year recurring operating income had nearly quadrupled during the first half of 2015, rising to €1.42 billion ($1.57 billion); while net income turned positive at €571 million, compared with a loss of €114 million for the same period in 2014. By mid-January, Peugeot’s shares had soared 32.5 percent since the team’s call, to €13.65, against the regional sector’s decline of 8 percent. Asumendi and his colleague continue to recommend that investors overweight the stock, partly on the discontinuation of nonprofitable models, with a target price of €22. “José is the friendliest analyst in the space, and his long calls have been on the money,” cheers another fan.
