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Jamie Baker | Jamie Baker JPMorgan SECOND TEAM Michael Linenberg Merrill Lynch THIRD TEAM Garrett Chase Barclays |
Jamie Baker of JPMorgan Securities flies to first place after spending the past three years in third. Baker, 40, “understands how the industry reacts to an extremely stressful environment,” notes one money manager. Soaring fuel costs made the past year very stressful indeed, but Baker made some winning calls despite the turbulence. He told investors that shares of Chicago-based UAL Corp., parent company of United Air Lines, had been unfairly punished, having plummeted from more than $40 per share in July 2007 to $5.07 one year later, and he urged bargain hunters to buy. The stock had soared 124.1 percent, to $11.36, by mid-September. During the same period the sector was up 8.0 percent. Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Richmond, Indiana’s Earlham College and worked as a route planner at Northwest Airlines Corp. of Eagan, Minnesota, and Houston-based Continental Airlines before joining JPMorgan in 2002. Michael Linenberg, who drops one notch to second place, “knows how to make money for people,” says one enthusiastic backer. The Merrill Lynch analyst recommended Tempe, Arizona–based U.S. Airways Group in June, at $2.69, and Atlanta’s Delta Air Lines in July, at $6.80, based on their cost-cutting initiatives. In mid-September the stocks were up 192.9 and 19.6 percent, respectively, to $7.88 and $8.13. Dropping one rung to third is Garrett Chase, who moved to Barclays Capital after its parent acquired Lehman Brothers last month. He “calls them like he sees them,” in the words of one portfolio manager. In June, on the belief that the industry would benefit from slashing capacity, Chase recommended that investors buy Delta, Northwest and United. By mid-September the stocks had climbed 18.9, 34.2 and 12.4 percent, respectively.
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