Pulp & Paper

Marcelo Aguiar leads the sector’s No. 1-ranked squad for the first time since 2006 — but this time, the 35-year-old team leader is representing Goldman Sachs, which he joined in 2007 from Merrill Lynch.

Marcelo Aguiar

Marcelo Aguiar

Marcelo Aguiar & team Goldman Sachs second team Edmo Chagas & team UBS Pactual

third team Ivan Fadel & team Credit Suisse

Marcelo Aguiar leads the sector’s No. 1-ranked squad for the first time since 2006 — but this time, the 35-year-old team leader is representing Goldman Sachs, which he joined in 2007 from Merrill Lynch. Aguiar’s São Paulo–based trio earns applause for “an insightful buy call” on the ADRs of Votorantim Celulose e Papel, a Brazilian paper and pulp manufacturer, which the researchers upgraded in April, at $8.16, on rising pulp prices. The ADRs had shot up to $14.94 by late July, gaining 83.1 percent over the period and outperforming the sector by 33.1 percentage points, in dollar terms.

After two years on top, the three-analyst UBS Pactual team guided by Edmo Chagas slips to second place. The team downgraded the preferred shares of Klabin, Brazil’s biggest paper recycler, to sell in January 2008 and highlighted the call repeatedly since, citing valuation concerns. For the 12 months through July 2009, Klabin’s stock tumbled 37.9 percent. Chagas, who is based in Rio, also leads the No. 3 team in Metals & Mining.

Ivan Fadel and his two-member Credit Suisse team drop one spot to third place. The São Paulo–based team downgraded the preferred shares of Klabin to sell in December, calling them overpriced at R3.59. By late July the shares had crumpled to R3.34.

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