Hedge Funds Are Selling MedAssets, Inc. (MDAS)

Is MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS) the right pick for your portfolio? The best stock pickers are getting less bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund bets fell by 1 recently.

To the average investor, there are many metrics investors can use to track publicly traded companies. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are many incentives for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS).

What have hedge funds been doing with MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -5% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors had the largest position in MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS), worth close to $49.3 million, comprising 0.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Claus Moller of P2 Capital Partners, with a $48.4 million position; the fund has 8.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Due to the fact that MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS) has witnessed declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there were a few hedgies who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin’s Senator Investment Group dumped the biggest investment of all the hedgies we track, totaling an estimated $62.6 million in stock.. Youlia Miteva’s fund, Proxima Capital Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $4.1 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter.

How have insiders been trading MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS)?

Bullish insider trading is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to MedAssets, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDAS). These stocks are Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX), Computer Programs & Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSI), Medidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO), WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD), and Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:QSII). This group of stocks are in the healthcare information services industry and their market caps resemble MDAS’s market cap.