Geoffrey MeachamJ.P. MorganGeoffrey Meacham debuted as a runner-up in 2007, jumped to second place the following year and has held that spot ever since. The J.P. Morgan researcher “has great knowledge of the science of biotechnology but can also combine that with what moves the stocks,” notes one client. Meacham is positive on the sector thanks to its active M&A environment and product launches. “The larger product-driven biotechs haven’t been impacted by the economic uncertainty in Europe this year — and they were barely impacted in the U.S. recession in 2008–’09 — so there is defensibility within the higher-cap names,” he says. His top pick for 2012 is Foster City, California’s Gilead Sciences, on the basis of rising sales of the company’s six HIV drugs and continued positive results from Phase 2 data on its hepatitis C drug GS-7977. The shares gained 40.9 percent and trumped the sector by 9.7 percentage points, year-to-date through August.