David Lawant
Itaú BBA
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 5

Team debut: 2009

After four years in second place, David Lawant slips to No. 3. The Itaú BBA analyst, who works out of São Paulo, downgraded Rossi Residencial in September from market perform to underperform, at 5.47 reais, in part because he believed the São Paulo–based homebuilder was overleveraged. In April, when company management announced a new cost-cutting strategy, he raised it back to market perform. By then the shares had plunged 44.2 percent, to 3.05 reais, and lagged the sector by 34.3 percentage points. The stock zipped to 4 reais in May, then reversed course; by mid-July it had fallen to 2.49 reais, for an 18.4 percent drop that tracked the sector’s decline. Lawant, who reports on 20 companies, “has deep insights,” observes one buy-side supporter. — Pam Baker