TipRanks

Notifications

The Leading Women of Wall Street

The financial industry is notoriously male-dominated. However, despite being significantly outnumbered, female analysts regularly appear on our top analysts of the year lists, and their stock ratings highlighted in our news and analysis.

This shouldn’t be surprising. A study in the Journal of Accounting Research states that women analysts “issue bolder and more accurate forecasts”.  The reason behind this, author Alok Kumar explains, is that given perceived discrimination in the field, only women with superior abilities choose to become financial analysts.

For over 23 years Kumar examined more than 2 million forecasts made by 17,240 analysts. Of these, only about 16% were female.

Are they really better? We looked at the overall performance of the average analyst tracked by TipRanks and compared it to the top 10 female analysts. The results were clear.

Whereas the average analyst has an average success rate of 57.25% and an average profit of 10% per rating for a 12-month period, the top 10 female analysts have an average success rate of 77.75% and an average return of 42.28%.

So, who are these leading women of Wall Street? To mark International Women’s Day, we identified the top 10 female analysts tracked by TipRanks to highlight their success.

Each analyst on this list is in the top 4% of over 7,000 Wall Street analysts.

The Top 10 Women of Wall Street

1. Geulah Livshits, Chardan Capital

In first place comes Chardan’s Geulah Livshits. Prior to becoming an analyst, Dr. Livshits was an academic scientist specializing in approaches to studying pancreatic cancer, then mechanisms of skin development and regeneration.

As an analyst she covers biotech companies, in particular those with a focus on gene editing and oncology.  Her background no doubt helps her in her coverage of biotech companies, focusing on oncology and gene editing.

Overall Livshits ranks #44 out of 7,336 analysts on TipRanks. She has a success rate of 73% with 93 out of 128 successful ratings, and an impressive average return per rating of 73.1%.

When compared the S&P and the healthcare sector she does even better. Livshits is ranked in 18th place overall when compared to the S&P 500 which she outperformed by 57.3% and in 6th place when compared to her sector, healthcare.

If you’re looking for recent stock recommendations from this powerhouse of an analyst, then note the following, on February 10 she maintained a Buy rating for Editas Medicine with a price target that currently indicates 80.16% upside potential.

2. Laura Martin, Needham

Needham’s Laura Martin takes second place. She has been at the firm since 2009 and is their senior analyst covering internet and media stocks. A Stanford and Harvard Business School graduate, she is also a Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Market Technician.

Before joining Needham, Martin worked at Soleil Securities and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Martin is ranked in 50th place overall on TipRanks and has a 65% success rate on 405 ratings and an average return of 32.6% per rating.  

On March 5th she assigned a “Buy” rating to Comscore with a $6 price target, indicating 104.78% upside potential.

3. Maria Ripps, Canaccord Genuity

In third place is Maria Ripps a technology expert who specializes in internet companies at Canaccord Genuity. She has been covering the internet for well over 10 years. She is ranked 53rd overall on TipRanks with a 72% success rate and 62.6% average return per rating over 12 months.

On February 26th Ripps maintained a “Buy” rating for Digital Media Solutions with a $15 price target, indicating 50.9% upside potential. Other recent “Buy” ratings from Ripps include Etsy and Leaf Group.


4. Shweta Khajuria, RBC Capital

RBC Capital’s Shweta Khajuria is in fourth place. She has a 92% success rate on 38 ratings and a whopping average return of +119.1%.

5. Marie Thibault, BTIG

Next on our list is BTIG’s Marie Thibault. She has a success rate of 64% on 86 ratings and an +84.1% average return. Covering the healthcare sector, she reiterated a “Buy” rating for Neuronetics Inc on March 2nd. Her price target of $21 indicates 49.89% upside.

6. Catherine Ramsey Schulte, Robert W. Baird

In sixth place comes Catherine Ramsey Schulte from Robert W. Baird who covers the healthcare sector. She has a 76% success rate and an average return of 37.2% per rating. She maintained a “Buy” rating for Maravai Lifesciences Holdings on March 2nd with a price target of $49.00, 37.68% upside.

 7. Helane Becker, Cowen & Co.

Cowen analyst Helane Becker is number seven. Covering the services sector, she has a 71% success rate on 402 ratings and a 19.0% average return per rating. At the end of January she maintained a “Buy” rating for Fly Leasing Limited.

8. Jennifer Demba, Truist

Next is Truist’s Jennifer Demba who covers the financial sector. On February 22nd, she maintained a “Buy” rating for Live Oak Bancshares.

9. Joanne Wuensch, Citigroup

Citigroup’s Joanne Weunsch is in 9th place. She maintained a “Buy” rating for Healthcare stock Penumbra on February 24th.

10. Salveen Richter, Goldman Sachs

Number ten on our list is Salveen Richter from Goldman Sachs. She is the fifth analyst on the list to cover the healthcare sector. On March 4th, she upgraded Passage Bio from a “Hold” to a “Buy” with a $30 price target, which indicates 51.29%.