C. Stephen Tusa Jr.
J.P. Morgan
C. Stephen Tusa Jr., who spent the past three years in the runner-up position, leaps to second place. In June 2009 the J.P. Morgan analyst upgraded Ingersoll-Rand from neutral to overweight, at $20.79, largely on its strong air-conditioning business. Shares of the machinery manufacturer, which is incorporated in Ireland but has its operational headquarters in Davidson, North Carolina, had skyrocketed to $32.53 by late August 2010, a gain of 56.5 percent that blew past the sector by a whopping 28.3 percentage points. In May he downgraded Rockwell Automation from overweight to neutral, at $56.32, on valuation, after the stock had shot up 86.6 percent and trounced the sector by an astonishing 48.8 percentage points since his upgrade the previous July. The Milwaukee-based developer of industrial software’s shares slumped 9.2 percent, to $51.14, through August; during the same period the sector slipped 1.7 percent. “Steve has figured out how to pick stocks,” observes one appreciative investor.
