Shares of $Hims & Hers Health Inc.(HIMS)$ are down 11% at the open of trading on what I would call a "journalistic short report".
Hunterbrook dubs itself a "investigative and global reporting" site, but it's ALL negative reporting about disruptive technologies/companies and they happen to have an investment arm that's SHORT HIMS.
That doesn't mean it's wrong, but the context is always important. Even the headline uses "shady supplier" and "not FDA approved" so there's clearly a slant.
Is there merit? OF COURSE!
Claim 1: HIMS GLP-1 is a "knockoff" and uses a "loophole" to sell them.
Truth: Kind of. The image below is from the FDA. Compounded forms of GLP-1 are legal while approved medications are in a shortage. That could last for years.
It seems there may be more side effects and these compounds rely on the network of pharmacies to make/provide the right product.
Hims may or may not be working with the best pharmacies and partners. But IMO scrutiny like this could lead to changes/improvements in the supply infrastructure, it's not a fundamental threat to the company.
A doctor called this "the largest uncontrolled, unconsented human experiment of our lifetime" and that seems rich from a person whose incentive is to keep people in the medical ecosystem and not allow $HIMS to disrupt their business. Take that statement with a MASSIVE grain of salt.
Claim 2: GLP-1 was approved without talking to a doctor.
Truth: I believe it. The reporter shows they did a survey and then were approved.
This is the weakest part of HIMS infrastructure, IMO, and I don't know exactly how to think about it.
If you think you need a GLP-1 or ED meds or hair loss meds and you go to a doctor are they going to do anything different? Are they going to say, "Actually, you should go for a walk and eat better?" NO!
Ever been to a hospital? Want some opiates? How about now? Now?
You're telling me HIMS incentives and process are worse than the status quo?
Probably not, but HIMS processes are easier to improve than the U.S. healthcare system overall, which is a MESS.
Claim 3: Insiders are selling.
Truth: Yep. Insiders are almost always selling. What does it mean? We don't know. This claim could be made about any company. I don't love it when insiders sell, but this is a reality and they almost always sell immediately when they can because it's part of their compensation. $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ insiders are selling by the hundreds of millions of dollars.
This is true, but it's also easy to make it out to be terrible when in reality it's just part of business.
Final thoughts
Short reports from "journalists" are a wild new world that investors need to tread in very carefully. Is this "journalist" going to report when they close their short position? No.
This is why I structure the Asymmetric Portfolio the way I have, telling subscribers what I'm doing before I do it. Incentives matter. My process isn't perfect, but knowing my incentives is important for readers.
I think this is another example of showing a company that needs to grow up a little. But every young, fast growing, disruptive company was once in the same boat.
$Uber(UBER)$ $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ Remember all the bad headlines? What did the stocks do?
Disruption is messy. Considering everything above and everything I know about HIMS, my bet is the company is a net positive in an absolute nightmare healthcare system that doesn't serve users. Are there problems? Yes. Are they more fixable than the problems in the traditional system? Yes!
Those are my initial thoughts.
https://x.com/TravisHoium/status/1806326546656874763
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