Vishal Shah
Deutsche Bank Securities
First-place appearances: 3

Total appearances: 4

Team debut: 2009

Vishal Shah of Deutsche Bank Securities slips to No. 2. Shah believes demand for the solar subsector is “going to turn out to be a lot stronger than people think, given that solar is now starting to become competitive in a lot of different regions of the world,” he says, with stable pricing continuing for at least the next 18 months. Consolidation is also contributing to the sector’s improving fundamentals, translating into higher valuations. “A lot of these stocks are up more than double since the beginning of the year, and I think the momentum continues as we go into the next couple of quarters,” Shah explains. He recommends SunEdison as the best play in the solar space in the near term, deeming the consensus earnings estimates for this year and next year conservative. The St. Peters, Missouri–based builder of solar power plants has been increasing projects globally, he adds. Moreover, SunEdison has a vertically integrated supply chain that enables it to control costs and boost margins as the fundamentals for polysilicon, a raw material used to make solar cells and panels, improve. Shah also looks favorably on the prospects for MasTec, a provider of infrastructure, engineering and construction services to the renewable energy and transportation sectors. He sees the Coral Gables, Florida–based outfit as “still pretty attractively valued.” Shah’s work is “comprehensive and consistent,” asserts one supporter. — Carolyn Koo