| | Lisa Gill | | J.P. Morgan | First-place appearances: 4 Total appearances: 9 Analyst debut: 2005 | Health care technology and distribution shares advanced 25.4 percent for the 12 months through August, outdistancing the S&P 500 by 8.7 percentage points. J.P. Morgan researcher Lisa Gill sees more room for the sector to run, too, “based on capital deployment and the potential for increased drug utilization as the [Patient Protection and] Affordable Care Act is rolled out,” she says. Gill, 44, retains the crown for a fourth straight year, and no wonder. “Her combination of analytical and strategic thinking is second to no one’s in health care,” one backer attests. CVS Caremark Corp. has been a Gill favorite since August 2011 because it “is one of the largest drug retailers in the U.S. and should see an increase in the number of prescriptions filled under the ACA,” she reports. In addition, Gill says, CVS’s pharmacy benefit management program, which is already among the nation’s biggest, continues to win new business. Finally, the researcher also cites the Woonsocket, Rhode Island–based company’s history of shareholder-friendly capital deployment. CVS’s stock surged 30.4 percent over the 12 months through August, from $44.51 to $58.05. — Leslie Kramer |
