THIRD TEAM

Masanori Wakae Mizuho Securities Group

After spending the past four years in the runner-up position, Masanori Wakae rises to No. 3. The Mizuho Securities Group analyst initiated coverage of JGC Corp. in July 2009 with a buy, at ¥1,368. The Yokohama-based designer and operator of nuclear power plants and other industrial facilities had posted record operating profits, and Wakae bet there would be more to come. He was right. In January 2011 the company raised its outlook for operating profit for the fiscal year ended last month, from ¥49.5 billion ($60.6 million) to ¥57 billion, and by late February the shares had shot up 34.9 percent, to ¥1,845, and outperformed the sector by a stunning 28.3 percentage points. “He has dependable timing and always responds quickly to our needs,” observes one satisfied client.

Polling and tabulation of data as well as reporting on the sector profiles were completed before the March 11 Tohoku earthquake.