2022 was indeed a challenging year for equity investors and analysts. The record high inflation, the Fed’s hawkish stance to contain it, and fear of recession made investing and generating capital gains tough. However, top Wall Street analysts continued to exude a high success rate despite volatility in the market and generated impressive returns.
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Against this background, let’s leverage TipRanks’ Experts Center to identify the top ten analysts of 2022 who defied the general market trend and outperformed their peers.
Top 10 U.S. Analysts for 2022
#1 Nitin Kumar, CFA (Mizuho Securities)
Nitin Kumar’s best rating has been on Antero Resources (NYSE:AR), a natural gas producer. His Buy rating on AR stock between January 5, 2022, and April 5, 2022, generated a stellar return of 75.6%.
#2 Brian Abrahams (RBC Capital)
Brian Abrahams’ best rating in 2022 has been on Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Through his Buy recommendation on PLRX, Abrahams amassed a massive return of 370% from May 10, 2022, to August 10, 2022.
#3 Marc Bianchi (Cowen & Co)
Marc Bianchi’s top recommendation has been NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR), which designs small modular reactors. The analyst generated a profit of 54.5% through the Buy recommendation on SMR between May 13, 2022, and August 13, 2022.
#4 Silvio Micheloto (Mizuho Securities)
Silvio Micheloto’s best call has been on PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF), a petroleum refiner and supplier of hydrocarbons. His Buy recommendation on PBF stock generated a 81.1% return between March 9, 2022, and June 9, 2022.
#5 Neal Dingmann (Truist Financial)
Neal Dingmann’s top call has been a Buy on natural gas and NGL (natural gas liquids) producer EQT Corp. (NYSE:EQT). Through the Buy rating on EQT, Dingmann garnered a return of 79% from January 14, 2022, to April 14, 2022.
#6 Scott Hanold (RBC Capital)
Like Dingmann, EQT Corp was also the top pick for Scott Hanold in 2022. Hanold’s Buy call on EQT fetched a return of 82.6% between March 4, 2022, and June 4, 2022.
#7 Doug Leggate (Bank of America Securities)
Doug Leggate’s best rating in 2022 has been with PBF Energy. Through his Buy recommendation on PBF, Leggate generated a solid return of 77.8% from March 8, 2022, to June 8, 2022.
#8 Scott Gruber (Citigroup)
Scott Gruber’s top recommendation has been on Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), an oil and natural gas exploration and production company. His Buy call on OXY stock generated a return of 87.5% from January 3, 2022, to April 3, 2022.
#9 James West (Evercore ISI)
James West’s best recommendation for 2022 has been Fluence Energy (NASDAQ:FLNC), which offers energy storage products and services. Through his Buy recommendation on FLNC, West amassed a stellar gain of 126.1% from May 16, 2022, to August 16, 2022.
#10 Joseph Stringer (Needham)
Joseph Stringer’s top call has been on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company. Stringer’s Buy recommendation on RYTM stock fetched a whopping return of 514.9% between June 17, 2022, and September 17, 2022.
Ending Thoughts
Despite a challenging macro backdrop, these top analysts generated significant returns from their recommendations. Thus, following top analysts could prove advantageous for retail investors to beat the broader markets. Investors can leverage TipRanks’ data, which accumulates the recommendations of Top Experts, while making investment choices to enhance their returns.
