Sanjaya Satapathy BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research The buy side says: “He is very good at uncovering opportunities.”
At the top of the roster is Sanjaya Satapathy, 40, of BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. “His long-term perspective produces good results in terms of performance,” explains one buy-side backer. Case in point: Satapathy launched coverage of Pune-based engine-maker Cummins India in July 2009 with a valuation-based buy rating, at 265.99 rupees. In February 2010, with the shares up 71.2 percent, to Rs455.42, he pounded the table, citing growing demand for natural-gas and diesel turbines. By the end of May 2011, the stock had surged an additional 51.1 percent, to Rs688.15, and trumped the sector by 48 percentage points since the reiteration. Clients praise Satapathy’s long-standing buy on Motherson Sumi Systems, which he recommended in September 2007, one month after he moved to DSP Merrill Lynch from HSBC. In the 12 months through May 2011, shares of the Noida-based auto-parts provider zoomed 64 percent, to Rs228. Satapathy, who earned an MBA in 1999 from the Xavier Institute of Management in Bhubaneshwar, provides “unmatched client service that has boosted our returns,” asserts one backer.