2007 Headlines

University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business Wins Johnson School MBA Stock Pitch Competition

Team shorts Under Armour (UA) with 12 month target of $50

2007 Winners:
University of Maryland students with Dean Thomas

November 5, 2007 | Ithaca, NY – A three-person team from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business has captured the title and a $3,000 prize at the sixth annual MBA Stock Pitch Competition that took place at the Parker Center for Investment Research at the Johnson School at Cornell University on November 2, 2007.

The Maryland team included second-year MBA students Siddharth Mathur, Alex Obaza, and Eric Olesh. In the final round Obaza recommended shorting Under Armour (UA) and gave it a one year target of $50, a 16 percent decrease over the close on November 1. Obaza comments, "We liked the company, we just thought the market was too optimistic on future growth."

In what was one of the most competitive fields to date, twelve teams competed for top honors. The second place winner was Northwestern's Kellogg which placed first in each of the last two years. They took home a $1,500 prize and proved that a winning pitch can be presented as either a long or a short: the team from Kellogg recommended a buy for Under Armour with a price target of $70, up approximately 21 percent. Newcomers Wisconsin-Madison placed third and recommended shorting Under Armour with a twelve month price target of $47.

Larry Rakers, vice president and portfolio manager for Fidelity Investments said "The Johnson School's Stock Pitch Competition truly is a unique opportunity for MBA students to demonstrate their abilities to analyze and discuss stocks. All twelve schools did a great job. It was difficult to pick a winner."

The teams included Columbia Business School, Cornell University (Johnson), Duke University (Fuqua), New York University (Stern), Northwestern University (Kellogg), University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, University of Maryland (Smith), University of Michigan (Ross), University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), University of Virginia (Darden), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.

Fidelity Investments was the lead corporate sponsor. Other sponsors include Jack Ferraro (MBA '70) a private investor and Johnson School alumnus, State Street Global Advisors, Wellington Management, Barclays Global Investors and CFA Institute.

For more information on the MBA Stock Pitch Competition, please visit www.mbastockpitch.com.