Country & Regions – Australia/New Zealand: Third

Sydney-based Matthew Nacard and his 52-member Macquarie Capital Securities team repeat in third place. Tracking roughly 300 companies, the analysts “leave no stone unturned,” according to one fund manager in London. In March they reiterated an underperform on Cabcharge Australia, at A$4.78, arguing that the East Sydney, New South Wales–based manager of payment systems for taxis was under earnings pressure from new technologies and legal challenges to the high fees charged credit card customers. The shares were flat, while Australia’s broad market gained 5.3 percent, through April. Among the stocks the researchers recommend is CSL; the Parkville, Victoria–based pharmaceuticals developer is rated outperform, partly on the earnings potential of its still-experimental immunoglobulin therapy for Alzheimer’s. “Matt has his finger to the market wind to identify directional shifts,” asserts one portfolio manager in New York. — Ben Mattlin