Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Sara Gubins wins third place for a second straight year, thanks to her “timely insights,” as one money manager says, “and breadth and depth of knowledge.” The analyst has increased her sector portfolio by one name over the past year, for a total of 25. She upgraded Menlo Park, California–based staffing and outsourcing services provider Robert Half International from neutral to buy in September 2012, at $26.26, citing increased hiring from small businesses. At the same time, she launched coverage of Calabasas, California’s On Assignment with a buy, at $20.59, crediting the information technology, life sciences and health care staffing agency’s high operating margins. Through August the shares advanced 34.3 percent and 46.5 percent, respectively, to $35.27 and $30.17. Both stocks remain among Gubins’s favorites. — Ben Mattlin |
The 2013 All-America Research Team: Business, Education & Professional Services, No. 3: Sara Gubins