The 2014 All-Russia Research Team: Telecommunications, No. 3: Anna Lepetukhina

After two years as a runner-up on this list, Anna Lepetukhina of Sberbank CIB rises to seize the No. 3 spot. A preferred name among the ten Russian telecommunications companies she follows is Yandex, a Netherlands-based services provider that operates Russia’s largest search engine. Lepetukhina has recommended several repositionings on its American depositary shares over the past nine months. First, she reiterated her buy rating in August, citing rising revenue from increased usage and advertising. Then in October — with the ADRs up 25.9 percent, at $40.79, and ahead of the sector by 15.2 percentage points — she noted that Yandex’s gross margins had slipped while its operating expenses had ticked up and downgraded them to hold. Four months later, when management officially launched the company’s online shopping portal, the analyst once again advised buying. The ADRs were then down 2.4 percent and through May slipped 21.8 percent further, to $31.14. Lepetukhina still deems them a bargain, as the price is well below her target of $47.92. “Anna is nimble and alert,” affirms one portfolio manager, “and she keeps abreast of this rapidly changing sector.”