| Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.’s Douglas Harned is in third place for a second year running. “Doug’s analysis of the defense industry has been spot on,” marvels one admirer, who highlights the researcher’s July 2011 upgrade of Raytheon Co. from market perform to outperform, at $43.35. The Waltham, Massachusetts–based defense-technology provider had posted surprisingly good second-quarter results, indicating margin gains and an improving backlog of orders. By the end of August 2012, the shares had surged 30.4 percent, to $56.52, and outstripped the sector by 25.2 percentage points. Harned, who actively tracks about a dozen stocks, continues to rate Raytheon outperform. “When the consensus was overly bearish, his detailed analysis indicated the sky was not falling — especially in terms of profitability, which proved correct,” asserts one buy-side backer. RUNNER(S)-UP P. Carter Copeland Robert Spingarn Robert Stallard David Strauss Myles Walton Heidi Wood |
