Thiago Capucci Macruz & team Itaú BBA First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 4
Team debut: 2008 Vaulting from runner-up to No. 2, Itaú BBA’s two-member troupe headed by Thiago Capucci Macruz delivers the firm’s best showing on this roster to date. “They uncover overlooked opportunities,” reports one fund manager. From their base in São Paulo, the analysts monitor six Latin American health care names. A favorite among these is Chilean health care services provider and insurer Cruz Blanca Salud, which they began following in September with an outperform rating, at 349.61 Chilean pesos. They pointed to the company’s expansion into Peru and its ability to benefit from the aging population and improving access to medical care. In early December a takeover bid from Spanish health care giant Grupo Bupa Sanitas boosted Cruz Blanca by 29.7 percent in one day — the offer price of 525 Chilean pesos per share represented a 43.6 percent premium to its previous-day closing price. Bupa acquired 56 percent of the company in February, and by late July, Cruz Blanca’s stock had advanced 38.7 percent since the group’s initiation, to 485 pesos. Over the same period the sector climbed 27.1 percent. It remains recommended, with a target price of 490 pesos.