second team Gary Taylor Citi
third team Darren Lehrich Deutsche
Adam Feinstein, 37, of Barclays Capital extends his winning streak to five consecutive years. “Feinstein was unstoppable in a year when other analysts were content to stick to their knitting,” observes one buy-sider. In May, as the financial crisis ebbed and the ramifications of the Obama administration’s health care agenda became clearer, Feinstein went bullish on the sector in general — and one Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Health Management Associates of Naples, Florida, in particular. Through August their stocks soared 41.2 and 25.9 percent, respectively. During the same period the sector advanced 15.9 percent.
In second place for a third straight year, the ordinarily bearish Gary Taylor found himself recommending stocks that he had previously rated sell, simply because paranoia surrounding health care reform had knocked hospital shares to levels he found attractive. One of the Citi analyst’s upgrades, Community Health Systems of Franklin, Tennessee, shot up a very healthy 24.3 percent, from $24.76 to $30.77, from Taylor’s initial buy in May through August. “You knew he’d done the homework and weighed all the risks,” says one grateful client.
Darren Lehrich of Deutsche Bank Securities, who repeats in third, delivers what one portfolio manager calls “stellar research, grounded in deep understanding of how operating models and Washington policy interact.” Lehrich expanded his coverage into laboratory services and niche medical facilities this year to give investors more options for making money, but an old-fashioned valuation call on Universal Health Services in April draws particular acclaim. The King of Prussia, Pennsylvania–based hospital management company’s stock had surged 27.5 percent by the end of August.
Click here to see the All-America Research Team rankings.
