The 2013 All-India Research Team: Capital Goods, Second: Venugopal Garre

Barclays researcher Venugopal Garre makes his best showing to date, capturing second place after a year’s absence from the lineup. One portfolio manager hails the analyst for his “in-depth bespoke research,” while another client favors his “large thematic pieces on why the sector is basically uninvestable.” Garre also wins praise for sticking with a December 2011 underweight on Bharat Heavy Electricals, a New Delhi–based manufacturer of turbines and related gear for power plants. As sales continued to disappoint, he repeatedly highlighted his negative position. By mid-October 2013 the shares had collapsed by 46.5 percent, to 145.50 rupees; they slumped 39.6 percent in the preceding 12 months alone, lagging the sector by 11.7 percentage points over that period. His current advice for clients is to “remain cautious,” he says, at least through next May’s general elections. One bright spot, however, is Larsen & Toubro, a Mumbai-based heavy machinery and engineering concern, which Garre upgraded from equal weight to overweight in August. He deemed the shares undervalued and noted the company’s new-order growth. By mid-October they already had jumped 16.8 percent, to 871.70 rupees, and led the sector by 1.4 percentage points. — Ben Mattlin