6 Executive Insiders Expecting a Health-Care Rally

Until recently, health care was considered to be a relatively safe investing bet. But with the economy continuing to struggle, not to mention the passage of the health-care bill, the sector's expecting a lot of near-term volatility.

Health-care companies will soon have to grapple with the consequences of the legislation; and according to FAF Advisors analyst Tim Nelson, "Increased regulatory requirements mean less innovation, less differentiation and more pricing pressure for the foreseeable future." And while reform will almost certainly bring with it an enormous wave of new customers, the influx won't actually happen for another couple of years.

In the meantime, consumers looking to cut costs are scaling back on products and services heretofore considered essential. And the effects are palpable -- the health care index has lagged the S&P 500 index over recent months.

And with a record-breaking wave of major pharmaceutical patents set to expire in 2011 and 2012, companies are going to face a ton of tough competition from cheaper generic competitors -- meaning that the potential effect on sales could be devastating.

Then again, given the Republican sweep of Congress, there may very well be enough gridlock to stall any major regulatory moves. So health-care companies may have at least a brief reprieve. But eventually, they're going to have to adapt if they want to match the earnings and revenues they're seen in the past.

But are things really as dire for the sector as analysts predict? To find out, we looked at the trades of insider executives, to see what they thought of the current business climate for the health-care industry.

Because if they think their own companies are up for the challenge, it's an indication that their hopes are high for the sector -- and since they know more about the industry than anyone else, we're inclined to use their bullishness as a starting point for some analysis ...

Here is a list of six health care companies that are being snapped up by insiders. (Click here to analyze the health-care stocks mentioned in this article.)

Data sourced from AOL Money. The list has been sorted alphabetically.

Interactive Chart: Press Play to see how market caps have changed for all the stocks mentioned above.

Kapitall's Eben Esterhuizen and Alicia Sellitti do not own shares of any companies mentioned.