John Glass | John Glass Morgan Stanley SECOND TEAM John Ivankoe JPMorgan THIRD TEAM David Palmer UBS RUNNERS-UP Jeffrey Bernstein Barclays ; Joseph Buckley BofA ; Rachael Rothman Merrill Lynch |
After two years in the No. 2 position, John Glass claims his first-ever first-place finish. Glass, who moved to Morgan Stanley from CIBC World Markets in January, has a “good sense about why stocks trade the way they do,” according to one client. The 44-year-old researcher initiated coverage of Chipotle Mexican Grill in March with an underweight recommendation, at $115.00, in anticipation of slowing same-store sales at the Denver-based fast-food chain. By mid-September the stock had withered to $56.70, a decline of 50.7 percent that underperformed the sector by 42.5 percentage points. Glass, who is based in Boston, earned an MBA from Yale University in 1994 and worked as a journalist before joining Alex. Brown in 1997 and moving to CIBC in 2002. JPMorgan Securities’ John Ivankoe, moving up one notch to second place, “has great relationships within the industry,” notes one investor. Ivankoe reiterated his recommendation of McDonald’s Corp. in January, after the Oak Brook, Illinois–based fast-food chain’s stock had skidded 19.1 percent in six weeks. He said concerns about rising commodities prices and slowing sales were overstated, and he was correct; the stock had gained 27.9 percent by mid-September. David Palmer rises from runner-up to third. The UBS analyst urged clients to buy Yum! Brands, the Louisville, Kentucky–based operator of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and other franchises, in February, at $34.53, on its aggressive overseas expansion. In May, after the shares had surged 17.5 percent, to $40.58, Palmer downgraded them to hold, on valuation. Through mid-September the stock had slid 6.2 percent, to $38.05.
