Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (VHS): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It But Hedge Funds Love It

Should Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS) investors track the following data?

To the average investor, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to monitor publicly traded companies. Two of the most useful 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 outperform the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as crucial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to look at the world of equities. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

What’s more, we’re going to examine the newest info surrounding Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS).

Hedge fund activity in Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS)

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 50% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

According to our 13F database, Camber Capital Management, managed by Stephen DuBois, holds the largest position in Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS). Camber Capital Management has a $41.5 million position in the stock, comprising 4.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Clint Carlson of Carlson Capital, with a $20.7 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds with similar optimism include Jeremy Green’s Redmile Group, Jane Mendillo’s Harvard Management Co and Sander Gerber’s Hudson Bay Capital Management.

As aggregate interest spiked, certain money managers were breaking ground themselves. Camber Capital Management, managed by Stephen DuBois, created the most valuable position in Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS). Camber Capital Management had 41.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital also made a $20.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new VHS investors: Jeremy Green’s Redmile Group, Jane Mendillo’s Harvard Management Co, and Sander Gerber’s Hudson Bay Capital Management.

What have insiders been doing with Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS)?

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VHS). 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 Amsurg Corp (NASDAQ:AMSG). This group of stocks belong to the hospitals industry and their market caps are similar to VHS’s market cap.