Fernando Abdalla J.P. Morgan First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 3
Team debut: 2012 For a third year running, Fernando Abdalla of J.P. Morgan wins the No. 2 position on this list. With a coverage universe of ten Brazilian transportation companies, the São Paulo–based researcher has “his finger on the pulse of the sector,” as one fund manager puts it. Of that group, Abdalla is positive on the prospects for freight rail operator and logistics provider América Latina Logística. In April, after shareholders approved ALL’s proposed merger with local rival Rumo Logística Operadora Multimodal, he upgraded the stock from neutral to overweight. Although ALL had advanced just 3.1 percent by the end of July, rising to 8.70 reais, it still outperformed its peers, whose performance was flat over the period — and Abdalla remains optimistic. “Approval of the merger by regulators should allow shares to trade closer to the deal-implied price of 10.18 reais a share, while also unlocking the opportunity for additional synergies,” he advises. “In our bull case scenario, ALL could be worth 15 reais.”