Abhishek
Kiran Gupta
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 1

Analyst debut: 2013

Debuting in second place, Abhishek Kiran Gupta of Bank of America Merrill Lynch “is one of the few analysts who has a clear handle on how the macro and micro structural issues are all put together,” one investor says. Gupta describes his sector as generally challenged — indeed, year to date through mid-October, Indian real estate names plunged 37.3 percent, compared with a 5.8 percent rise by the S&P BSE Sensex Index. He notes, however, that the lower-priced residential segment and Bangalore’s housing market represent pockets of relative strength. Another exception to the general gloom is Indiabulls Real Estate. Since January the analyst has urged clients to buy the New Delhi–based property developer, forecasting improvements to its income statement and profits, as well as a reduction in debt. Although Indiabulls’ net debt rose to 20.48 billion rupees ($334.13 million) at the end of September from 10.65 billion rupees at the end of June, its year-over-year after-tax profits for the six months ended September 30 more than doubled, to nearly 1.54 billion rupees. The stock tumbled 11.3 percent through mid-October, to 62.35 rupees, but that still easily bested the sector by 32.2 percentage points. — Katie Gilbert