THIRD TEAM

Stuart Jeffrey & team Nomura International

The Nomura International duo directed by Stuart Jeffrey slips one spot to third place. In January 2010 the analysts downgraded Alcatel-Lucent from neutral to sell, at €2.47, making the case that slowing demand would put pressure on the Paris-based company’s profits. In mid-February, Alcatel widened its margin targets for the year from the mid-single-digit range to the low- to mid–single digits; the shares tumbled on the news but recovered, then they spent much of the rest of the year zig-zagging. By the end of December, the share price had fallen 11.7 percent since the downgrade, to €2.18, and trailed the sector by 4.9 percentage points. The Nomura analysts are “a fantastic resource on the deeper dynamics — they’re great on the hardware development side of these businesses,” cheers one backer.