Hedge Funds Are Buying CorVel Corporation (CRVL)

CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL) was in 5 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. CRVL has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 3 hedge funds in our database with CRVL holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

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At the moment, there are many methods shareholders can use to analyze Mr. Market. Some of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if investors know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL).

How are hedge funds trading CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 67% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey’s Healthcor Management LP had the most valuable position in CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL), worth close to $29.7 million, accounting for 1.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $22.3 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the biggest position in CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL). Millennium Management had 0.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors also initiated a $0.4 million position during the quarter.

How are insiders trading CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL). These stocks are Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE), CNinsure Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CISG), National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE:NFP), eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH), and Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD-B). This group of stocks belong to the insurance brokers industry and their market caps are similar to CRVL’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE) 9 1 2
CNinsure Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CISG) 5 0 0
National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE:NFP) 15 0 0
eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) 10 0 4
Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD-B) 7 4 0

With the results shown by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ:CRVL) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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