Media: Publishing & Advertising Agencies

Alexia Quadrani

J.P. Morgan

The buy side says:“No one does a better job of keeping us informed and up-to-date.”

Alexia Quadrani, who spent the past six years in second place, climbs the final step to finish on top for the first time. The J.P. Morgan analyst “has a deep understanding of the advertising business, based on her years of coverage, good management access and media contacts, and detailed analysis,” cheers one buy-side champion. Case in point: Quadrani, 43, reiterated her buy recommendation on Interpublic Group of Cos. last October — she began recommending the company two years earlier — on the belief that the New York–based holding company for global advertising, marketing and media relations agencies would report better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. She was right. The stock had bolted 40.8 percent, from $6.06 to $8.53, by the end of August; during the same period the Standard & Poor’s 500 publishing and printing index fell 9.5 percent. “She does a great job anticipating directional changes in earnings estimates and organic growth,” and is also “very good at ranking the relative investment potential of the names in her coverage universe,” notes one money manager. Quadrani, who earned an MBA at New York University Stern School of Business in 1993, worked as a beverages analyst at Smith Barney and then covered advertising agencies at Bear, Stearns & Co., which was acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in June 2008.