Simona Jankowski advances from runner-up to third place. The Goldman, Sachs & Co. analyst covers 26 companies and maintains a neutral stance on the sector, overall. Her favorite name in the group is San Jose, California–based networking giant Cisco Systems, which she rates a conviction buy. Year to date through August, Cisco’s shares jumped from $19.36 to $23.31, rising 20.4 percent against the S&P 500’s 14.5 percent gain. “Cisco will continue to outperform for several reasons,” she contends, “including high leverage to accelerating global growth, strong execution driving share gains and positive product cycles such as 10-gigabit [ethernet] switching and service-provider WiFi.” Jankowski also recommends that clients buy Qualcomm, a San Diego–based fabless chip supplier, crediting “upside to estimates from stronger smartphone growth in emerging markets and a better-than-expected competitive position in mobile chipsets.” The stock began the year at $60.97 and had climbed 5.9 percent, to $66.28, by the end of August. Among small caps, the researcher prefers Huntsville, Alabama’s Adtran; BroadSoft of Gaithersburg, Maryland; and Sunnyvale, California–based Ruckus Wireless. Jankowski “has excellent insights into the upcoming technologies in the space,” cheers one backer. — Pam Baker |
The 2013 All-America Research Team: Data Networking & Wireline Equipment, No. 3: Simona Jankowski