Kirk Yang & team
Barclays
Kirk Yang and his six-member crew at Barclays shoot straight in to second place. “Kirk is well-connected, and his industrial experience and exposure have provided insights beyond the curve,” declares one backer. The researchers have been bearish on the sector for the first half of the year, says Yang, who has a background in engineering and management consulting. Personal computers, including laptops, are still the biggest revenue source, but there’s been weaker-than-expected demand, brought on by a lackluster global economy, cannibalization by smartphones and tablets, and a lack of innovation, he notes. In this environment they are counseling investors to be defensive: Recommendations include such hardware manufacturers as Hong Kong’s Lenovo Group and Taiwan’s Asustek Computer, which are enjoying “market share gains that offset the industry slowdown,” the team leader says, and also have exposure to smartphones and tablets. The group also favors makers of components for low-end tablets and smartphones, such as Taiwan-based Largan Precision Co., which makes camera lenses, and China’s AAC Technologies Holdings, which manufactures speakers and microphones. The analysts, working out of Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei, cover 35 companies and are likely to add five to ten more names this year, Yang says.— Carolyn Koo