Technology, Media & Telecommunications – Internet: First

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Mark Mahaney
Citi
“Mark makes the best stock calls and earnings forecasts.”

San Francisco–based Mark Mahaney, who earns his fifth straight sector crown, “does an excellent job of applying a systematic and consistent investment template to his recommendations, which allows him to avoid the waffling and inconsistencies you often see with other analysts,” declares one loyalist. The Citi researcher urged investors to buy IAC/InterActiveCorp in April 2011, at $33.32, arguing that the market was underestimating the growth potential of the personal sites, such as Chemistry.com and Match.com, hosted by the New York–based online-search-services provider. In March, after the stock had zipped to $50.31 — for a gain of 51 percent — the 46-year-old downgraded it to hold, on valuation. The share price had inched up to $51.84 by the end of August. Looking ahead, Mahaney is upbeat: “We continue to see secular growth across the different Internet verticals — retail, advertising, travel and so on,” he says. “We believe this creates the opportunity for companies to generate market-premium earnings-per-share growth rates for the foreseeable future, if they execute well.”

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