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Adam Feinstein | Adam Feinstein Barclays SECOND TEAM Gary Taylor Citi THIRD TEAM Darren Lehrich Deutsche RUNNERS-UP Thomas Gallucci Merrill Lynch ; Justin Lake UBS ; Kenneth Weakley Credit Suisse |
The turmoil in the credit markets slammed the door on leveraged-buyout activity in the hospital subsector this year, but four-time sector champion Adam Feinstein, 36, was already thinking one step ahead. Clients say he has been helping them crunch the numbers on a wave of potential initial public offerings. “Adam stays focused on the strategic picture, as well as on the opportunities closer at hand,” marvels one admirer. Feinstein, who moved to Barclays Capital after its parent acquired Lehman Brothers last month, issued a contrarian upgrade of Tenet Healthcare Corp. in January, calling the stock a bargain at $4.28. Shares of the Dallas-based hospital management company had jumped 51.4 percent by mid-September, to $6.48, compared with the sector’s 19.4 percent drop. Gary Taylor moved from Banc of America Securities to Citi in March and holds firm at No. 2 for a second straight year. Taylor broke with the consensus in April by advising investors to sell Community Health Systems of Franklin, Tennessee, on eroding margins. In June, after the stock had tumbled 15.2 percent, the analyst upgraded it to neutral; by mid-September the share price had risen 5.0 percent. Taylor is “an inexhaustible source of tradable ideas,” declares one supporter. Darren Lehrich, who rises from runner-up to third place, “is ahead of the curve,” says one appreciative booster. The Deutsche Bank Securities analyst upgraded Melville, New York–based home-care provider Gentiva Health Services in January on the belief that its benefits management unit would find a buyer. It did: Water Street Healthcare Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, offered $147 million for the subsidiary in August; the deal was completed last month. By mid-September, Gentiva’s shares had skyrocketed 55.4 percent since Lehrich’s upgrade.
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