THIRD TEAM

Yue (Ally) Ma  Citi

Yue (Ally) Ma, who recently resigned from Citi, slides to third team from the No. 1 spot last year. “She’s close to management and understands how they think,” says one backer, adding, “I especially like her work — and her calls — on the airline sector.” Her headline on an October research report on China Southern Airlines Co. was: “Take the money off the table.” In downgrading the carrier’s stock to sell from buy, at HK$5.51, she acknowledged that the stock had performed “brilliantly” throughout 2010, gaining 127.7 percent over the first ten months, but warned that earnings were peaking while high-speed rail, due online in 2012, would severely challenge the airlines’ business. By the end of April, the stock had dropped 26.7 percent, to HK$4.04.