Giovana Araújo Itaú BBA First-place appearances: 2
Total appearances: 3
Team debut: 2012 Giovana Araújo of Itaú BBA slips to second place on this list after two years at the top. Working out of São Paulo, “Giovana has very strong sector knowledge,” one money manager observes, “recognizing value in ‘non-plain-vanilla cases’ such as Fertilizantes Heringer.” Araújo has been advising clients that elevated prices for agricultural commodities will propel earnings growth for nutrient distributors, farm operators and other industry suppliers, including Espírito Santo–based Heringer and Rio Grande do Sul’s SLC Agrícola. She maintains an outperform rating on both names. Heringer is set to benefit from strong fertilizer sales in Brazil, she notes, owing to “a carry curve of global fertilizer prices and a better market environment after consolidation of important players.” SLC, which is among the nation’s largest landowners, is poised to profit from rising cotton and soybean prices, as well as improving yields and the appreciation of its land holdings, Araújo contends.