Consumer – Tobacco: Second

Sunil (Nik) Modi marks his fifth consecutive appearance on the team; the UBS analyst debuted at No. 3 in 2008, climbed to second place the following year and has held that spot ever since. Modi named Lorillard his top pick in June 2011, at $93.66, on the belief that the Greensboro, North Carolina–based cigarette manufacturer’s “strong underlying fundamentals” would withstand investor anxiety over the possibility of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on mentholated cigarettes. He highlighted his stance in January and again in July, and by the end of August, the stock had lit up a gain of 34 percent, rising to $125.51. (The FDA is still mulling that proposed ban.) “Nik has stayed correctly bullish on tobacco stocks for many years and seems to have the best industry contacts,” cheers one buy-sider.