WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WCG): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of indicators market participants can use to track the equity markets. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you know where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the recent action regarding WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG).

Hedge fund activity in WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG)

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -19% from one quarter earlier.

Since WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) has faced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few hedge funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Peter Adam Hochfelder’s Brahman Capital dropped the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, comprising close to $47.7 million in stock.. Robert Pohly’s fund, Samlyn Capital, also sold off its stock, about $29.4 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 5 funds last quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG). These stocks are Coventry Health Care, Inc. (NYSE:CVH), Magellan Health Services Inc (NASDAQ:MGLN), Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH), Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), and Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC). This group of stocks are the members of the health care plans industry and their market caps resemble WCG’s market cap.

Company Name	# of Hedge Funds	# of Insiders Buying	# of Insiders Selling
Coventry Health Care, Inc. (NYSE:CVH)	32	0	10
Magellan Health Services Inc (NASDAQ:MGLN)	17	0	1
Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)	26	1	8
Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT)	20	0	3
Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC)	22	0	6

With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) is an important part of this process.

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