< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team
& team UBS First-Place Appearances: 8
Total Appearances: 51
Team Debut: 2014 Gareth Jenkins, 40, leads the four-member UBS squad straight to the top of this new sector, which combines the previous Technology/Semiconductors and Telecommunications Equipment categories. UBS claimed the No. 2 and No. 3 slots on those respective lineups last year. Based in London, the analysts report on 18 stocks and are looking to add coverage this year. “If 2013 was typified by ‘self-help’ investment theses, 2014 will be determined by companies’ usage of cash. Circa $900 billion in cash sits on balance sheets across hardware-related companies globally,” says Jenkins. “Some will reinvest heavily for growth, others will return cash to shareholders, and M&A is likely to be a major feature.” They forecast robust capital spending in the sector this year so look favorably on French telecom equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent and remain bullish on ASML Holding, a Dutch supplier of photolithography systems used in the manufacture of integrated circuits. “In general,” the crew chief explains, “we have a preference for higher-quality companies that can avoid or at least mitigate technological disruption.” Accordingly, they hold strong ratings on U.K. processor maker ARM Holdings (buy) and British mobile graphics producer Imagination Technologies Group (sell) — and are “not being sucked into the Ericsson euphoria, staying neutral,” he advises. “Technologically, we see 2014 as the breakout year for small cells, the ‘Internet of things,’ and flexible displays.” Jenkins joined UBS in 2007 after serving for nine years as a telecoms analyst at Deutsche Bank. He earned a bachelor of science degree in economics and French from England’s University of Durham. “The differentiating factor” regarding Jenkins and his crew, one supporter asserts, “is how thoughtful and deliberate they are in their research.”
See also Gareth Jenkins' profile in the 2013 All-Europe Research Team and 2013 All-Europe Research Team.
