SECOND TEAM Gregory Gilbert BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research
Gregory Gilbert, in second place for a third year running, “understands the potential of these companies better than anyone covering the space,” declares one advocate. The BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research analyst highlighted his buy rating on Cephalon in March, on a price dip at $54.86, on the belief that the market was too negative about the Frazer, Pennsylvania–based biopharmaceuticals concern’s long-term prospects — especially in light of the company’s commitment to research and development, which rose from $105.4 million in the first quarter of 2010 to $122.3 million in the first quarter of this year. Less than two weeks after Gilbert pounded the table, Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, announced that it had offered to buy Cephalon for $5.7 billion, or roughly $73 a share. The company rejected that bid but in early May announced with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries their agreement to merge; the Israel-based Teva would pay $81.50 per share, or $6.8 billion, for Cephalon. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Cephalon shares were trading at $80.65 in late August, for a whopping 47 percent gain that bested the sector by 40.1 percentage points.