< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team
Stuart Pearson & team
Exane BNP Paribas
First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 1
Team debut: 2016
Exane BNP Paribas earns its first appearance on this roster, with a three-person crew under the stewardship of Stuart Pearson. Winning third place, the London-headquartered analysts report on 14 European autos and auto parts names. Investors single out for praise the team’s warning on BMW. Pearson, 38, and his associates lowered their rating on the German luxury car and motorcycle brand from neutral to underperform in January 2015, citing pricing pressures and market share declines. Despite its rise of 37.1 percent, to €114.41, through mid-March — a gain that was in line with regional peers’ performance — BMW’s stock had by the middle of last month fallen 10.2 percent since the analysts’ downgrade, to €74.88, and lagged the European sector by 2 percentage points. Going forward, they recommend that clients prefer France’s Faurecia, on strong earnings expansion for the top auto parts supplier in Europe and North America. Their price target of €45 implies a 42.3 percent upside to the shares’ value in mid-January. “Stuart is a smart, selective stock picker,” declares one fund manager. Pearson joined Exane in October 2013 from Morgan Stanley, whose team he guided to third place that year. Previously, he worked as an equity analyst at Credit Suisse and Citi. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at England’s University of Bristol followed by an MSc in management and finance at the U.K.’s University of Bath.