I guess timing really is everything. Had managed health company Coventry Health Care (NYSE:CVH) reported earnings Thursday, the stock would probably have been battered, like the others in this space have been. But because investors are feeling a bit more chipper about the sector Friday, the stock is up nicely.

And to be fair, Coventry had a relatively clean quarter -- something that wasn't really so much the case for rivals like Aetna (NYSE:AET), WellPoint (NYSE:WLP), and UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH), which each gave investors some bits and pieces to worry about.

Coventry's revenue rose about 24%, and even though that's not an entirely clean number (there are some funky revenue recognition rules regarding Part D), it still looks fine to me. Margins came under pressure, as expected, and net income was up just 7%, as reported, and only 1% on a per-share basis.

Digging in a little further, the medical loss ratio (a measurement of health-care costs) worsened slightly but stayed under 80. Likewise on membership -- enrollments were up just 5,000 from the fourth quarter and 4% from last year, but the market seems reasonably satisfied with that, and the link between commercial enrollments and earnings growth aren't quite as strong as the market sometimes seems to think.

The First Health unit still looks to this Fool like a mixed bag -- revenue was down from the previous quarter (again), but expenses were also lower. Now I realize that fixing this business is a multiyear sort of undertaking, but it's still a little frustrating to see the top-line erosion (though assuming that some of that is from less profitable business, maybe that should be "good riddance").

Although pricing and cost trends seem OK, the spread between premium growth and cost growth feels like it's narrowing a bit -- not just with Coventry but in the sector as a whole. But what concerns me more is that management has made further acquisitions its top priority for the company's capital -- well-timed and well-priced deals are great, but if management were to get "deal happy," that would be bad for today's shareholders.

All in all, I come away from Coventry still thinking that there's money to be made here -- and a fair bit of it. On the flip side, though, I see just about as much potential in WellPoint shares and consider it to be better-run and less risky today. But it's really a toss-up at this point, and both companies are apt to do well, barring any major problems with controlling medical costs.

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Coventry Health Care and UnitedHealth are Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. A free, 30-day trial will give you a closer look at Tom and David Gardner's other picks.

Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).