Mariko Watanabe UBS
second team Yoshihiro Ujihara Shinko
third team Taro Ishihara Daiwa Institute
For the fourth time in the past five years — this sector was not published in 2007 — Mariko Watanabe of UBS finishes in first place. “Among the small-cap analysts, she knows the companies the best,” declares one portfolio manager. Watanabe, 41, demonstrated that knowledge when she upgraded FP Corp. to buy in October, at ¥3,000, on the strength of the plastic-container manufacturer’s expanding market share. By the end of February the stock had soared to ¥4,480, up a whopping 49.3 percent during a period when the sector tumbled 15.6 percent. Yoshihiro Ujihara of Shinko Securities Co. rises from third place to second. Ujihara downgraded Star Micronics Co., a manufacturer of printers and other computer peripherals, to sell in January 2008, at ¥2,330, on declining demand. The stock had plunged 64.4 percent, to ¥830, by the end of February 2009. Previously unranked Taro Ishihara takes third place. The Daiwa Institute of Research analyst knows his companies “very well and deeply,” according to one satisfied buy-sider. Ishihara’s best calls of the past year include a September buy recommendation on Watabe Wedding Corp., because of rising overseas demand for the company’s wedding services. The stock’s 56.3 percent gain through late February was pure bliss for investors.
