< The 2014 All-America Research TeamBrian AlexanderRaymond James & AssociatesFirst-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 4

Team debut: 2011Brian Alexander repeats in third place. The Raymond James & Associates researcher “does extremely diligent work and is very well-respected by management teams,” one portfolio manager observes. “He is very thoughtful and hits on the key issues of his companies.” From his base in St. Petersburg, Florida, Alexander tracks 19 technology supply chain names. “Given that most of our companies are driven by broad commercial [information technology] spending patterns,” he says, “we focus on corporate profits and credit conditions as leading indicators for IT demand. In 2015 we expect overall capital spending trends to improve versus recent years, as business confidence recovers while corporate profits remain healthy.” One of his long-standing favorites is Ingram Micro, a Santa Ana, California–based supply management and logistics provider that Alexander upgraded from market perform to outperform in July 2013, at $20.76. In April, when investors had driven the share price down from $30.78 to $26.63, he pounded the table, dubbing the stock a strong buy with a price objective of $33 because he believed the market was overreacting to short-term quarterly reporting inputs. In July he raised his price target to $36, and the shares had risen to $27.62 by mid-September, for a gain of 33 percent since last July that paced the broad market by 15.3 percentage points. “We believe there is meaningful upside given our view that [earnings per share] power in 2016 is $3.50 or higher, while book value should climb to roughly $30 by the end of 2015,” he explains. “We suspect the stock will trade at up to a 20 percent premium to book value.”