Christopher Danely J.P. Morgan
second team Timothy Luke Barclays
third team Glen Yeung Citi
Clients appreciate the fact that Christopher Danely, in first place for a third year running, is willing to admit that he doesn’t have all the answers. “Unlike his peers, he accepts when he is wrong,” says one money manager. The San Francisco–based J.P. Morgan analyst told investors in January that the sector rally then under way — semiconductor stocks were up 29.9 percent from their November lows — was not sustainable, and he predicted it would end in May. Although Danely, 38, did not change his neutral stance, he did highlight two companies likely to see significant gains in the short term, On Semiconductor Corp. of Phoenix and Xilinx of San Jose, California, owing to strong demand from China. The stocks had gained 28.7 and 21.4 percent, respectively, and the sector had advanced 22.3 percent further, by early May, and Danely told clients it was “the end of the road for the bear market rally.” Wrong. The sector continued to rise, gaining 12.4 percent through August.
Timothy Luke of Barclays Capital repeats in second place. Among the analyst’s top calls was an April upgrade to overweight on Hillsboro, Oregon–based TriQuint Semiconductor, at $3.12, on improving sales. The wireless chip manufacturer’s stock catapulted 134.6 percent, to $7.32, through August.
It’s three years in third place for Glen Yeung of Citi. The San Francisco–based analyst’s timing was “almost perfect in upgrading the semiconductor group,” says one grateful portfolio manager. Last November, Yeung turned positive on the sector, and among the companies he recommended was graphics card maker Nvidia Corp., citing the Santa Clara, California, outfit’s aggressive product price cuts. The stock had jumped 65.8 percent by August 31.
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