< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team
Andrew Stott’s London-based Bank of America Merrill Lynch team extends its hold on second place to a fourth straight year. With 24 stocks under their purview, the duo maintains a cautious stance for the year ahead. Germany’s K+S is among the companies that the researchers expect to continue to underperform. They downgraded the fertilizer supplier last March, deeming its shares overpriced. K+S is hard-pressed to increase capacity until its new Canadian projects come online in 2015, the analysts reason. Sure enough, by the end of December, the stock had plummeted 37.8 percent, to €22.38, trailing the sector by 43.2 percentage points. They instead direct investors toward Royal DSM, a Dutch manufacturer of medical, personal care and pharmaceuticals products. In May, noting that animal-vitamin volumes and prices were improving, the pair upgraded DSM from neutral to buy. Through December the shares leaped 20.4 percent, to €57.15, while the sector inched up 2.8 percent. “Andrew’s market views are incisive and insightful,” attests one money manager. |