John McDonald Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
Rising one notch to the second team, John McDonald impresses voters with his “in-depth fundamental insights,” as one ally puts it. In February the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst upgraded PNC Financial Services Group from neutral to outperform, at $51.54, partly because the Pittsburgh-based diversified lender had just repaid the $7.6 billion it received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The shares rose as high as $69.53 in late April before plunging to $50.99 by the end of August, but they still managed to outpace the sector by 10.6 percentage points over the period. McDonald “adds value by fleshing out key drivers more thoroughly than his competitors,” marvels another backer.