< The 2015 All-Europe Research Team
José Asumendi & team
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
First-place appearances: 4
Total appearances: 7
Team debut: 1995
Newcomer José Asumendi leads his J.P. Morgan Cazenove troupe to third place, marking the firm’s first appearance on this roster since 2000. In January 2014 the three London-based analysts added French auto components supplier Valeo to their coverage universe — now totaling a dozen regional names — with a bullish view and an overweight rating. They project that the manufacturer’s order backlog, rising sales to Asia and leading position as a supplier of products and systems used to reduce carbon emissions will combine to drive outstanding revenue growth. By the end of last month, the stock had rocketed 47.4 percent higher, closing at €125.65 and outperforming its regional peers by 30.5 percentage points. Asumendi’s troupe also likes Volkswagen going forward, thanks to the German automaker’s above-average capacity utilization across developed and emerging markets. The team leader joined J.P. Morgan in November 2012 from Germany’s Baader Bank, where he covered this sector. He previously had done likewise at Royal Bank of Scotland in London. Asumendi earned a bachelor’s degree in business and finance from Spain’s Universidad Comercial de Deusto and is deemed “a rising star” by one admirer.