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João Carlos
dos Santos
BTG Pactual
First-place appearances: 2

Total appearances: 2

Analyst debut: 2012

BTG Pactual’s João Carlos dos Santos repeats in first place; the 33-year-old, who works out of São Paulo, also turns in a sector-topping performance in Health Care. “He is one of the best in the business,” declares one ally. Santos covers four companies and expects two of them — Anhanguera Educacional Participações, which is headquartered in Valinhos, and Belo Horizonte–based Kroton Educacional — to merge by year-end. “Despite a 120 percent jump in the average share price for education names in 2012, we remain bullish on the sector, as fundamentals still look solid,” Santos says. The recent market rout stemming from macroeconomic worries is “an opportunity to increase exposure to the space,” he adds. Highly recommended: Estácio Participações, which the analyst believes will enjoy robust earnings-per-share growth. The Rio de Janeiro–based education company’s stock was trading at 16.69 reais in mid-July; Santos has a target price of 19 reais. — Pam Baker