SECOND TEAM
Rohit Chordia Kotak Securities
Claiming second place is Rohit Chordia of Kotak Securities. Widely hailed by clients for recent cautious views, Chordia stands out for sticking with a valuation-based downgrade of Reliance Communications from market perform to underperform all the way back in July 2007, at 578.39 rupees. Citing the Navi Mumbai–based wireline and wireless telecommunications services provider’s slumping revenues and overstretched balance sheet, Chordia maintained the sell rating as shares kept falling. By the end of May 2011, they had plummeted 84.5 percent, to Rs89.50 — dropping 37.9 percent in the preceding 12 months alone — and lagged the sector by 1.5 percentage points. “Rohit’s insights on valuations and likely outcomes help shape our thinking,” relays one investor.