Tal Liani BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research

Holding steady in second place for a third straight year is BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research’s Tal Liani, who also lands at No. 3 in Telecom Equipment/Wireless. Rising demand for firewalls and other security applications prompted Liani to upgrade F5 Networks of Seattle from neutral to buy in January, at $53.01. In March, after the share price had leapt 21.3 percent, to $64.31, the analyst issued a valuation-driven downgrade to neutral — too soon, as it turned out. The stock continued to rise, reaching $87.43 by the end of August. Still, clients value the analyst for his “excellent fundamental research” and ability to “break down complex technological issues into simple concepts.”