< The 2015 All-America Research Team
Timothy Anderson
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
First-place appearances: 4
Total appearances: 12
Analyst debut: 2003
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.’s Timothy Anderson secures the No. 3 spot, after two years in second place. The San Francisco–based analyst “and his team do it all — great deep dives on big controversies but also really good coverage of quarterly earnings,” one admirer declares. Plus, another portfolio manager offers, “he has excellent contacts and thoroughly understands the science yet can speak about everything in plain English and can always tie it back to the financial impact on the company.” The U.S. pharmaceuticals industry has seen a heightened level of investor interest over the past couple of years, reports Anderson, driven primarily by improving drug pipelines and the increasing novelty of the pharmaceutical products in development. Looking forward, however, he projects that higher valuations will lead to moderating interest in the sector. “It will depend on the particular outlook for each company, because there is a clear disparity among them,” adds the 47-year-old researcher. Eli Lilly & Co. remains his favorite big pharma player. “We upgraded the name in 2012 because of its pipeline, and at the time, it was out of favor,” he says. “But looking forward, they have a lot of optionality in research and development, with one of the higher-profile — and clearly higher-risk — programs being their Alzheimer’s disease drug, Solanezumab.” Shares of the Indianapolis-based drugmaker jumped 36.6 percent during the 12 months through mid-September, to $88.49, while the broad market slipped 2.6 percent. Anderson’s price target for Ely Lilly is $98.