Health Care - Life Science & Diagnostic Tools: 2011 First

The buy side says: “He has very keen insights.”

Climbing the final step to finish on top for the first time is J.P. Morgan’s Tycho Peterson. “He knows his companies well — and that leads to winning trade ideas,” says one buy-side advocate. One example: Peterson reiterated his overweight call on Beckman Coulter in early October 2010, at $47.62, making the case that investors were overreacting to the sudden resignation of CEO Scott Garrett in September. The analyst noted that the Brea, California–based maker of laboratory equipment would rebound thanks to its strong cash flow and products in development. In February, Washington-based diversified manufacturer Danaher Corp. announced that it would acquire Beckman Coulter for $83.50 a share; the deal was completed in June. Peterson, 39, joined Hambrecht & Quist (which was later absorbed by J.P. Morgan) as an associate equity analyst in 1999, after working as a consultant for PowderJect Pharmaceuticals; he earned an MBA from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in 2008.