SECOND TEAM

Manoj Menon Kotak Securities

Manoj Menon debuts in second place; the Kotak Securities analyst is also No. 1 in Consumer/Staples. “Manoj has great stock calls and presents them with conviction,” insists one adherent. The researcher upgraded Asian Paints in May 2009 from sell all the way to buy, at 949.45 rupees, on strong demand and sales growth at India’s largest paint manufacturer, which is headquartered in Mumbai. In February 2011, after the stock had more than doubled, to Rs2,501.55, Menon downgraded it to reduce, in part on the rising price of petroleum, a critical component. The stock subsequently advanced 25.3 percent, to Rs3,133.40, through May, but Menon attributes the recent gain to the announced addition of new stocks, including Asian Paints, to the MSCI India index, which brought an influx of cash from index funds. “The fundamentals have not changed, and our fundamental view on the stock has not changed,” he says.