HCA and Other Healthcare Stocks Making Big Moves on November 8, 2012

This morning's trading has marked a bad day for the market so far. The Nasdaq has fallen 0.5%; the S&P 500 is down 0.2%; and the Dow has decreased 0.2%. The healthcare sector is the category of stocks relating to medical and healthcare goods or services. This sector includes hospital management firms, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), biotechnology and a variety of medical products. Stocks in the healthcare sector are often considered to be defensive because the products and services are essential. Even during economic downturns, people will still require medical aid and medicine to overcome illness. Having a consistent demand for goods and services makes this sector less sensitive to business cycle fluctuations.

The Healthcare sector (XLV) is currently lagging behind the overall market, down 0.6%, and its current biggest movers are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
InterMune (Nasdaq:ITMN)	$536.4 million	+16.7%
Genomic Health (Nasdaq:GHDX)	$970.3 million	-13.1%
NxStage Medical (Nasdaq:NXTM)	$625.4 million	+12.3%
Salix (Nasdaq:SLXP)	$2.23 billion	+10.1%
Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq:SGEN)	$2.89 billion	-7.9%
HCA (NYSE:HCA)	$14.92 billion	-4.7%
WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG)	$2.16 billion	-4%

Forex Broker Summary: Forex Capital Markets (FXCM)

After a big jump of 16.7%, InterMune (Nasdaq:ITMN) is trading at $9.52 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 2.9 million shares, whereas yesterday, volume was only 1.1 million shares.

Genomic Health (Nasdaq:GHDX) is at a share price of $27.70 after a sharp decline of 13.1%. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 908,053 shares.

NxStage Medical (Nasdaq:NXTM) is trading at $11.91 per share, a significant rise of 12.3%. The company's volume is currently 482,237 shares for the day, 1.3 times the current three-month average.

Salix (Nasdaq:SLXP) rose a significant 10.1% to reach $41.81 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 1.4 million shares. This is three times the average daily volume.

Falling 7.9%, Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq:SGEN) is currently at a share price of $22.53. At 1.8 million shares, the company's volume so far today is more than yesterday's 921,568 shares.

HCA (NYSE:HCA) is down 4.7% to reach $32.26 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of three million shares.

Currently trading at $47.91 per share, WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG) has fallen 4%. With 432,588 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.3 times its average over the past three months.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.