Health Care: Health Care Technology & Distribution 2007

Lawrence Marsh, who retains the crown for a fourth straight year, “has a good feel for what business trends will drive the stocks,” asserts one client. Marsh, 47, has spent much of 2007 touting longtime favorite MedcoHealth Solutions, first recommended in 2004.

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Lawrence Marsh

First TeamLawrence Marsh

Lehman

Second Team

Robert Willoughby, BofA

Third Team

Lisa Gill, JPMorgan

Runner-Up

Thomas Gallucci, Merrill Lynch


Lawrence Marsh, who retains the crown for a fourth straight year, “has a good feel for what business trends will drive the stocks,” asserts one client. Marsh, 47, has spent much of 2007 touting longtime favorite MedcoHealth Solutions, first recommended in 2004. The Franklin Lakes, New Jersey–based pharmacy benefits management company’s margin outlook became cloudy after Wal-Mart Stores accelerated plans to start filling generic drug prescriptions at $4.00 apiece, but the Lehman Brothers analyst noticed that the resulting explosion of generic sales was fattening Medco’s profits. The stock soared 63.1 percent in 2007 through mid-September. During the same period the sector rose 4.6 percent. Marking his third consecutive No. 2 appearance, Robert Willoughby of Banc of America Securities delivers a “relentless emphasis on ROIC,” in the words of one investor. Last November, Willoughby told investors to buy Caremark Rx, saying the Nashville-based pharmacy benefits manager was selling itself short in its proposed merger with CVS Corp. He predicted the Woonsocket, Rhode Island–based pharmacy chain would up its offer for Caremark, and it did. Lisa Gill, who repeats in third, is “a Medco bull who called it early and called it right,” says one supporter. The JPMorgan Securities analyst added the stock to her focus list in January. By mid-September it had risen 63.9 percent.

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