Is Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG) a good investment?
In the financial world, there are tons of metrics investors can use to watch Mr. Market. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outperform the market by a significant margin (see just how much).
Equally as crucial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are many stimuli for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Furthermore, it’s important to examine the newest info about Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG).
What does the smart money think about Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG)?
At the end of the second quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -25% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Polar Capital, managed by Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley, holds the largest position in Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG). Polar Capital has a $10.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, which held a $6.9 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Judging by the fact that Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG) has experienced dropping sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that elected to cut their positions entirely at the end of the second quarter. Interestingly, Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management cut the largest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, totaling an estimated $1 million in stock, and Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.4 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds at the end of the second quarter.
How have insiders been trading Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG)?
Insider buying made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll check out the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG). These stocks are Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH), Health Management Associates Inc (NYSE:HMA), LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPNT), Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM), and Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS). This group of stocks belong to the hospitals industry and their market caps are similar to AMSG’s market cap.
