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Key Takeaways
- Shares of telehealth company Hims & Hers skyrocketed Monday after the company announced plans to offer GLP-1 injections of a weight-loss drug using the same active ingredient as popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro.
- Demand for popular weight-loss drugs has boosted the earnings and stock prices of their makers, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, in recent quarters.
- However, the market for weight-loss and diabetes treatments has been limited by supply as companies have rushed to increase production over the last year.
Shares of Hims & Hers Health ( HIMS ) surged close to 28% Monday after the telehealth company said it would begin offering GLP-1 injections as part of its weight-loss package of drugs.
The market for weight-loss treatments has exploded in recent years , led by drugs containing the same active ingredient, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound from Eli Lilly ( LLY ) and Ozempic and Wegovy from Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk ( NVO ).
Popular Weight-Loss Drugmakers’ Stock Prices Boosted by Surging Demand
The rising popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs has helped drive Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s earnings and stock prices significantly higher in the last year as both companies have worked to raise production capacity to meet demand. The move by Hims & Hers Health to offer GLP-1 injections could help the telehealth company capitalize on the trend.
“We’ve leveraged our size and scale to secure access to one of the highest-quality supplies of compounded GLP-1 injections available today,” Hims & Hers co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum said in a Monday statement.
The cost for Hims & Hers weight-loss treatment plans including oral prescriptions start at $79 per month, while the compounded GLP-1 injections will start at $199 per month. That pricing could make Hims & Hers treatments more affordable for some users than Ozempic and Mounjaro, which can range from as low as $25 for someone with insurance that covers the treatments to over $1,000 for a monthly supply, depending on eligibility for certain savings programs.
The company said the shots will be distributed through its pharmacy partners, with plans to expand the program’s offerings once “consistent supply” is available.
Guidance Doesn’t Include Weight-Loss Drug’s Impact
The company said its current earnings guidance doesn’t include the potential impact the weight-loss drugs will have on its future earnings, and it isn’t updating its guidance at this time.
Hims & Hers shares finished 27.7% higher Monday at $18.60. With Monday’s gains, they’ve more than doubled in value since the start of the year.