Hitoshi Shin UBS
second team Ikuo Matsuhashi Goldman Sachs
third team Masaya Yamasaki Nomura
runners-up Yoshiharu Izumi JPMorgan; Hideyuki Maekawa Credit Suisse; Masaharu Sato Daiwa Institute; Yukihiko Shimada Mitsubishi UFJ
Thanks in part to his “ability to forecast industrial trends,” in the words of one fund manager, Hitoshi Shin captures the crown for a fifth consecutive year. The 44-year-old UBS analyst upgraded Fujitsu in January 2008, at ¥690, on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stable earnings. After the stock zipped to ¥824 in June, Shin told clients to take profits. By the end of February, Fujitsu’s share price had fallen to ¥337, a loss of 59.1 percent that underperformed the sector by 3.0 percentage points. After spending last year in third place, Ikuo Matsuhashi of Goldman Sachs (Japan) reclaims second place. “He is not afraid to speak his mind,” observes one buy-sider. Matsuhashi downgraded Hitachi to sell in October, at ¥555, on declining demand for circuit boards. The stock had sunk 55.3 percent, to ¥248, by the end of February. Although he drops one rung to third place, Masaya Yamasaki of Nomura Securities Co. continues to earn plaudits for what one client calls his “extensive subindustry and market analysis.” Yamasaki downgraded NEC Electronics Corp. to sell in January 2008, at ¥2,375, on slowing sales of computer chips. The share price had plummeted to ¥493 by the end of February 2009.
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2009 All-Japan Research Team Rankings