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João Carlos
dos Santos
BTG Pactual
First-place appearances: 2

Total appearances: 5

Analyst debut: 2009

Leading the lineup for a second straight year is João Carlos dos Santos, 33, of BTG Pactual; the São Paulo–based analyst also captures top honors in Education. He upgraded Rio de Janeiro’s Profarma Distribuidora de Produtos Farmacêuticos from neutral to buy in January, at 15.16 reais, after the distributor of health care and pharmaceuticals products acquired a 50 percent interest in Rio-based drugstore operator Drogarias Tamoio, greatly expanding its retail footprint and earnings potential. Two months later, with the stock up 46.4 percent, to 22.20 reais, Santos reduced it back to neutral, citing disappointing operating expenses. By mid-July the shares had slid 21.2 percent, to 17.50 reais. “His timing has been very good,” marvels one backer. (Profarma signed a letter of agreement in July to buy the remaining 50 percent of Drogarias Tamoio.) Santos is bearish on the sector for the remainder of the year. “The steady deceleration of formal job creation should keep health plan expansion low,” he says. Plus, “recent efforts to boost prices [are] limiting sector growth.” — Ben Mattlin