< The 2016 All-Europe Research Team
Céline Fornaro & team
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
First-place appearances: 2
Total appearances: 13
Team debut: 1992
In second place is Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which captured the No. 1 spot last year. From their base in London, director of coverage Céline Fornaro and one teammate monitor 15 European aerospace and defense names. They have been encouraging clients to steer clear of U.K.-based power systems manufacturer Rolls-Royce Holdings. Citing in large part soft aircraft-engine demand, in mid-January 2015 the pair lowered its rating on the stock from neutral to underperform. Sure enough, over the following year it declined 36.5 percent, to 544p. During the same period, the regional sector dipped less than 1 percent. At the other end of the spectrum is Inmarsat, a British mobile satellite operator that the researchers have been touting since reinstating coverage on the name in April. They assign the shares a buy rating, crediting the company’s unique, worldwide wireless broadband network Global Xpress, as well as the European Aviation Network it is developing with Germany’s Deutsche Telekom to provide a combined satellite and ground high-speed in-flight Internet access service throughout the region. As of mid-January, Inmarsat’s shares were trading at 966.84p, up 6.7 percent over the life of the call and well ahead of the 19.6 percent drop posted by its European peers. BofA Merrill’s analysts forecast a further rise to 1,500p. Fornaro, 39, "is always informative and has terrific access to industry experts," declares one buy-side advocate.