Hims & Hers Health (NYSE:HIMS) has to be one of the craziest growth stocks I’ve ever held. To give a flavour, it’s up 97% since the end of February but still 50% off the $57 it reached back in September.
Since early 2025, the share price chart has resembled a heart monitor!
Why is it such a bucking bronco?
At a glance
As a quick reminder, Hims & Hers is an online health platform. It connects patients with licensed medical professionals, delivering personalised treatments to their front door.
This could be for sexual health, weight loss, mental health, acne, hair loss, low testosterone, or menopause care. Many people are too embarrassed to visit a doctor in person for these conditions, making the anonymity of platforms like Hims & Hers more appealing.
The company has grown exponentially. Last year, revenue jumped 59% to $2.3bn, up from $149m in 2020. And it has turned profitable in this time while growing its subscriber base to over 2.5m.
We are on a mission to reshape the healthcare system with the customer at the centre…This is what people deserve, whether they live in a rural midwestern community in the US, a large city in the UK, or somewhere in between. We are moving fast to build this new reality.
Hims & Hers.
Why’s the stock suddenly flying?
The stock crashed 27% in February when Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit against the firm for patent infringement over a cheap compounded pill version of the best-selling GLP-1 drug.
Since then though, the pair have made up and Hims & Hers now sells branded Ozempic and Wegovy. Investors obviously welcomed this development.
The second bit of good news came last week when the FDA removed 12 wellness peptides that were previously under ‘Category 2’ restrictions (which limited how they could be compounded and sold).
Millions of people are now using peptide therapies for things like anti-ageing, muscle recovery, and cognitive health (nootropics). GLP-1 itself is a peptide hormone.
For the record, I have firsthand experience here because I have been using a copper peptide for the past few months. It has significantly improved my skin, making my face look younger (according to some friends).
Now, this is still a regulatory grey area and I’m definitely not malign any recommendations for people to use peptides. But there has been skyrocketing interest in this area of longevity and ‘biohacking’ over the past few months, as the Google Trends graph below shows.
Ready to manufacture peptides at scale
But how does this benefit the business? Well, the company bought a specialist peptide manufacturing facility last year. This handles the complex chemistry needed for next-generation wellness products.
So with the regulatory landscape seemingly changing, peptides could represent another big growth driver in the years head.
Would I bet the farm?
The biggest risk I see here is competition from the likes of Amazon Pharmacy. Also, the relationship with Novo Nordisk might sour again in future, sending the stock crashing.
Despite these potential risks, I’m still bullish on the stock. If the company can become the ‘Amazon of healthcare’, it would likely be a monster winner considering the relatively small $6.6bn market cap today.
Given the enormous potential here, I think the stock’s worth considering. However, it’s definitely in the high-risk, high-reward camp, so I wouldn’t bet the farm.
