|
Sachin Jain,
Graham Parry
& team |
| Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
| "They positively surprise us year after year." |
The five-member Bank of America Merrill Lynch squad shoots from third place to its first appearance atop the sector since 2010. This year,Graham Parry,who has led the team since 2007, is assisted bySachin Jain. The London-based analysts added five stocks to their roster, for a total of 25, and expect 2013 to mark the first year of a growth phase for the sector, with product launches offsetting declines from pharmaceuticals that have lost their patent protection in recent years. Key picks include Germany's Bayer and Denmark's Novo Nordisk, both of which remain structural growth stories despite their recent strong performance, says Parry, 39. (Bayer's shares surged 48.8 percent in 2012, and Novo Nordisk's nearly kept pace, gaining 40.6 percent — both well ahead of the sector's 12.1 percent rise.) Jain, 36, covered the sector for HSBC before moving to Merrill Lynch in 2004; he is a graduate of England's University of Nottingham Medical School. —Leslie Kramer |
