08-wb-lart-joao-carlos-dos-santos.jpg
João Carlos dos Santos & team
BTG Pactual
First-place appearances: 2

Total appearances: 4

Team debut: 2008

In 2011, when this sector returned to the survey after a two-year absence, São Paulo–based João Carlos dos Santos led the BTG Pactual crew to second place. One year later, Santos and his associate were on top — and that’s where they land again this year. Covering seven companies, with plans to add two more in the months ahead, the analysts earn praise for their October downgrade of Brazil’s OdontoPrev from neutral to sell, at 11.10 reais, on concerns about “fiercer competition from integrated health plan operators and sluggish market growth,” according to their report. By mid-July the dental benefits company’s stock had slid 20.1 percent, to 8.87 reais, and it remains sell rated. The duo is generally cautious going forward, with a few exceptions. They like Chile’s CFR Pharmaceuticals, a drug developer deemed a bargain in early July at 115.90 Chilean pesos, especially as it accrues benefits from its 2012 acquisition of Colombian rival Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol. Santos, 33, “keeps his thumb on the pulse of the industry,” cheers one satisfied client. — Ben Mattlin