Hedge Funds Are Selling Healthways, Inc. (HWAY)

Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. HWAY has experienced a decrease in hedge fund interest recently. There were 8 hedge funds in our database with HWAY positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to analyze the equity markets. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outclass the broader indices by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. There are a number of motivations for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a gander at the key action regarding Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY).

How have hedgies been trading Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY). Royce & Associates has a $11.5 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Partner Fund Management, managed by Christopher Medlock James, which held a $3.9 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Because Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY) has faced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there were a few funds who were dropping their entire stakes at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we track, comprising about $0.3 million in stock. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

Insider trading activity in Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY)

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY). These stocks are Acadia Healthcare Company Inc (NASDAQ:ACHC), Hanger Inc (NYSE:HGR), IPC The Hospitalist Company Inc (NASDAQ:IPCM), The Providence Service Corporation (NASDAQ:PRSC), and U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH). This group of stocks are the members of the specialized health services industry and their market caps match HWAY’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY) is an important part of this process.

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