Health care stocks are often tough to trade, and many investors tend to stay away from them because of their predisposition to volatility. Using Kapitall tools, we put together a list of health care stocks with insider buying over the last 6 months with a market cap over $330 million.

The insider buying data tells us one important thing: The people who work there expect the stock to go up. After all, who knows a company better than the people who run it, either in upper management of on the firm's board. Their purchases represent faith in the firm's future prospects, so there's good reason for outsiders like us to take note of their actions.

On the flip side, insider selling is a bit more difficult to read. Has the employee or board member lost faith in the company, or do they simply want to use the investment to buy a house or pay for their child's college tuition?

Business section: Investing ideas
Health care stocks do come with a mentality of "go big or go home" -- they're not necessarily for the weak-hearted investor. It's a bit like swinging for the fences because the stock can rise or fall significantly with a single word from the FDA, or the appearance of a competitor.

By using insider buying trends in your search, we may be able to identify the firms with more potential upside than downside in this unstable industry:

What do you think of the names below? Use this list as a starting point for your own analysis. (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)

1. Genomic Health: Focuses on the development and global commercialization of genomic-based clinical laboratory services that analyze the underlying biology of cancer allowing physicians and patients to make individualized treatment decisions. Market cap at $1.02B, most recent closing price at $34.03. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 2,890,046 shares, which represents about 10.43% of the company's 27.72M share float.

2. Halozyme Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HALO): Engages in the development and commercialization of recombinant human enzymes that transiently modify tissue under the skin to facilitate injection of other therapies or correct diseased tissue structures for clinical benefits. Market cap at $860.05M, most recent closing price at $8.30. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 3,372,440 shares, which represents about 4.7% of the company's 71.81M share float.

3. Incyte (Nasdaq: INCY): Focuses on the discovery and development of proprietary small molecule drugs for hematologic and oncology indications, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Market cap at $2.97B, most recent closing price at $23.21. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 4,585,074 shares, which represents about 3.62% of the company's 126.56M share float.

4. LHC Group: Provides post-acute health care services primarily to Medicare beneficiaries in rural markets in the United States. Market cap at $333.33M, most recent closing price at $17.59. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 218,950 shares, which represents about 1.49% of the company's 14.66M share float.

5. Opko Health (NYSE: OPK): Engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel and proprietary technologies primarily in the United States, Chile, and Mexico. Market cap at $1.36B, most recent closing price at $4.61. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 3,838,570 shares, which represents about 2.83% of the company's 135.53M share float.

6. Pacira Pharmaceuticals: Engages in the development, commercialization, and manufacture of pharmaceutical products for hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. Market cap at $370.06M, most recent closing price at $11.45. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 511,422 shares, which represents about 2.8% of the company's 18.27M share float.

7. Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq: PCYC): Operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing and commercializing small-molecule drugs for the treatment of immune mediated disease and cancer. Market cap at $2.4B, most recent closing price at $34.77. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 2,054,434 shares, which represents about 3.77% of the company's 54.51M share float.

8. Ardea Biosciences (Nasdaq: RDEA): Focuses on the discovery and development of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of gout and cancer in the United States. Market cap at $1.18B, most recent closing price at $31.96. Over the last six months, insiders were net buyers of 1,285,338 shares, which represents about 6.31% of the company's 20.36M share float.

Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.


Kapitall's Ryan Horch does not own any of the shares mentioned above.