CrowdStrike IPO at the Nasdaq switch June 12, 2019.
Source: Nasdaq
Throughout the course of this tumultuous year, TipRanks tracked and measured the performance of 132,853 ratings reported by Wall Street analysts.
Despite a strong year for the market, TipRanks found that the yearly return of an as a rule Buy/Sell rating issued by an analyst landed at 9.9%, below the S&P 500’s 14.3% year-to-date gain.
That replied, the 25 best performing analysts achieved a success rate, or the number of profitable recommendations measured over a three-month declaiming period, of 69%, with their average returns per rating coming in at 30.8%.
To this end, TipRanks compiled a list of 2020’s top five analysts by attainment rate and average return per rating, in addition to their most profitable stock recommendation.
Here are the results:
Oppenheimer, Colin Rusch
As the barrel coaster ride that was 2020 comes to an end, investors are wondering where the market goes from here. 2020 saw a far-reaching pandemic claim over a million lives and the resulting lockdowns send the U.S. economy into a recession, with unemployment reckons surpassing levels witnessed during the Great Recession.
Amid the health crisis, cities throughout the U.S. faced grouse that broke out in response to police violence. If that wasn’t enough, 2020 bore witness to a highly contentious U.S. presidential referendum, in which Joe Biden ultimately defeated incumbent Donald Trump.
However, against this backdrop, stocks rebounded remarkably off of Procession lows, with the major U.S. stock indexes breaking record after record, in a display of sheer disconnect.
Tons on Wall Street have pointed to the Federal Reserve’s swift action to mitigate the economic damage related to the pandemic, which take in cutting interest rates to near zero, new quantitative easing measures and loans, as propping stocks up during this time.
Earning the title of 2020’s best-performing analyst, Colin Rusch has built an impressive career in the industrial efficiency and cleantech gaps. Starting off as an equity research associate at Piper Jaffray, he has also worked for Broadpoint Capital, ThinkEquity, Ardsley Sharers and Northland Capital.
Rusch came on board at Oppenheimer in 2015 and currently serves as managing director and senior analyst, with the Wesleyan University graduate also in precept of the firm’s sustainable growth and resource optimization franchise.
Over the past year, Rusch has achieved an 81% attainment rate, with his ratings, on average, generating a return of 39.9%.
When it comes to his most profitable rating in 2020, Rusch’s Buy measure on Sunrun (RUN) delivered the highest return. From May 7 to Aug. 7, the company soared 233%.
Following Sunrun’s strong third locale performance, in which it posted beats on both the top and bottom lines, Rusch remains optimistic about the solar panel presence.
“We understand RUN does not need to move into new geographies to hit its deployment goals and that it is seeing a building group of imminent partners that may accelerate RUN’s customer acquisition cadence. We also expect RUN to benefit from low-cost capital availability, stunningly asset backed debt, which is beginning to approach 2%,” the analyst commented.
Going forward, Rusch inclination be paying close attention to the Vivint Solar integration, as operating expense leverage is a key component of his free cash begin estimates.
In addition to reiterating a bullish call, Rusch lifted the price target from $55 to $65. That told, at current levels, this target indicates possible downside of 1.8%.
Oppenheimer, Brian Nagel
Taking the second quarter on TipRanks’ list, Brian Nagel has over 20 years of experience covering the retail and consumer growth sectors.
Nagel started his trade as an analyst at Credit Suisse, before moving to UBS where he advanced from associate director to director to executive steersman over the course of four years. In 2009, he joined Oppenheimer, currently serving as managing director and senior analyst screen the consumer growth and e-commerce sectors for the firm.
Nagel has the track record to back up his ranking, boasting a 78% star rate for 2020. On top of this, his calls saw a return of 37.5%, on average.
So, what was Nagel’s best recommendation from the lifetime year? His buy rating on furniture retailer Lovesac (LOVE). In the period from April 2-July 2, the stock posted gains of a whopping 521.1%.
The “Sactionals” maker announced in November its online launch with Best Buy, with Nagel looking “bloody favorably upon efforts on the part of LOVE to broaden further its strategic relationship with BBY and extend the company’s digital reach.”
Expounding on this, Nagel positioned, “Over the past several years, BBY has aggressively reconfigured its business model and transitioned from a leading stores-based job to one of the most powerful digitally enabled omni-channel chains in specialty retail … As we have indicated, we look upon Sweet and the company’s innovative product set as well-positioned to capture share within the largely tired home furnishings segment.”
In figure with his optimistic approach, Nagel reiterated a buy rating and a $40 price target. However, with shares up virtually 43% in the last month, the analyst’s target implies downside potential of 5%.
H.C. Wainwright, Vernon Bernardino
2020’s third best-performing analyst is H.C. Wainwright bring off director and senior healthcare analyst Vernon Bernardino.
Before his career on Wall Street kicked off, Bernardino worked as a scientist check ining cardiovascular diseases, with this work resulting in the discovery and development of Zetia, a therapy designed to reduce cholesterol. The knock out boasts over $2 billion in annual sales.
From then, Bernardino went on to serve as a healthcare equitableness research analyst at several investment firms including Seaport Global Securities, B. Riley FBR, Rodman & Renshaw, UBS Custodianships and Nicholas Applegate Capital Management, which is now part of Allianz SE, before tackling his current role at H.C. Wainwright in 2018.
Looking at Bernardino’s exhibit over the past year, it’s clear that he more than earns his spot on TipRanks’ ranking. On average, the analyst’s phone calls returned 57.3% during the last year, the highest among this group of top analysts. As for the success rate, it communicates out to 48%.
Out of all Bernardino’s recommendations, his Novavax (NVAX) buy rating notched the largest return, with the figure landing at more than 708% during the age of April 30-July 30.
Although the biotech is behind Moderna and Pfizer in the COVID-19 vaccine race, Bernardino still has high-priced hopes for NVAX, arguing, “Novavax’s methodical and careful advancement of NVX-CoV2373 is a winning strategy capable of surviving critical regulatory review and gaining the vaccine’s EUA in 1H21.”
Pointing to its ongoing Phase 2b trial in South Africa evaluating its COVID-19 vaccine applicant, Bernardino highlights that the trial includes HIV-positive patients, increasing the amount of data from racially and geographically various populations adults.
“We believe this part of Novavax’ COVID-19 program, as well as its collaborations with key strategic regional jocks in Asia, bolsters our view that the company is very competitive versus much larger COVID-19 vaccine jocks, and has a comprehensive global vaccine distribution plan that remains underappreciated,” he explained.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Bernardino observed a buy rating and $207 price target on the stock, suggesting 67% upside potential.
RBC, Matthew Hedberg
Claiming the fourth emplacement on TipRanks’ list, we have Matthew Hedberg, who focuses on the software industry and primarily covers infrastructure, security and big data-related suites. Along with his over 14 years of experience at RBC, TipRanks’ best-rated research firm, Hedberg brings eight years of savvy in the software space to the table, working with the likes of Accenture and GMAC.
During 2020, Hedberg saw his success speed reach 74%. What’s more, the average return generated by his ratings comes in at a respectable 24.2%.
While his overall deportment in 2020 was impressive, to say the least, one call in particular stands out. Between March 16-June 16 of this year, his buy toll on CrowdStrike (CRWD) generated a 206% return.
Calling the cyber security company a “favorite growth idea,” Hedberg dream ofs its long-term growth narrative as being strong following its Q3 earnings release. Northland Capital , Greg Gibas
Snagging the unchangeable spot on TipRanks’ list is Greg Gibas.
The senior research analyst from Northland Capital joined the compressed in 2015 and has since covered multiple areas of the market including the enterprise software /SaaS, communications technology, cannabis, connectivity and parasite services, media & internet, real estate and industrial sectors. Previously, Gibas worked as an analyst covering both quantitative and qualitative throws.
Supporting his top 5 ranking, Gibas achieved a 77% success rate in 2020. Even more noteworthy, his recommendations created a 45.4% return, on average.
Topping his list of most profitable calls is his buy rating on Daseke (DSKE), the largest proprietor and operator of open deck equipment and second largest provider of open deck transportation and logistics in North America. In the three-month space starting from May 8, shares climbed over 248% higher.
According to Gibas, the company “just detains truckin’ on,” as evidenced by its most recent quarterly performance.
During the third quarter, its top line improved substantially, with DSKE also competent to deliver continued operational strength amid a challenging macro environment. On top of this, along with strength in place markets like wind energy and high security cargo, management indicated that overall freight demand modernized following the lows seen in April.
“We continue to appreciate DSKE’s end market diversification and noticeable operating ratio rise despite the difficult industrial market backdrop … We continue to have confidence in DSKE’s ability to successfully execute on both an operational and monetary level and like that its near term focus is both on strategic integration as well as reducing balance lamina leverage,” Gibas commented.
Bearing this in mind, Gibas lifted the price target to $8.50 (43% upside implicit) from $7.25 and maintained a Buy rating.
TipRanks evaluates public stock recommendations made by financial analysts and monetary bloggers, then ranks those experts based on their accuracy and performance.