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Morgan Stanley sets Overweight rating on Hims & Hers stock, cites growth potential

EditorAhmed Abdulazez Abdulkadir
Published 12/17/2024, 07:38 PM
HIMS
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On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) initiated coverage on Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) with a bullish stance, assigning the stock an Overweight rating and setting a price target of $42.00. The firm recognizes Hims & Hers as a strong investment opportunity, emphasizing its impressive revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) projection of 30% from 2024 to 2026. This forecast builds upon the company’s significant annual growth rate of 80% over the past three years.

Morgan Stanley highlights the company's solid performance across digital health and direct-to-consumer (DTC) sectors. The firm’s revenue and EBITDA estimates for Hims & Hers in 2025 are 5% and 9% higher, respectively, than the consensus on Wall Street. The company's scalable technology platform boasts an 80% gross margin, and its leadership includes executives and board members with extensive experience from notable companies such as Uber (NYSE:UBER), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH), and Tinder.

The company's expertise is further strengthened by healthcare industry veterans, including a former deputy commissioner at the FDA and executives from leading pharmaceutical companies like Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), and Teva. Additionally, a senior advisor from the Cleveland Clinic contributes to the company's depth of knowledge. Morgan Stanley points to a significant year-over-year subscriber increase of 175% in the third quarter of 2024, outpacing the 44% growth of the overall business.

The $42 price target is based on an enterprise value to sales (EV/S) multiple of 3.5 times the calendar year 2026, which aligns with the current multiple on the next twelve months. When adjusted for growth, the EV/S/G multiple of 0.12 times is viewed as attractive compared to the DTC Internet/Digital Health sector's 0.36 times and the small to mid-cap (SMID) software sector's 0.42 times. The price target also reflects an enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) multiple of 24 times.

Despite potential volatility in Hims & Hers’ stock, Morgan Stanley suggests that the investment case has a favorable risk-reward profile, with a substantial upside in the bull case scenario compared to the bear case, indicating a nearly 2.5 to 1 skew in favor of potential gains.

In other recent news, Hims & Hers Health has seen significant developments. The company reported a 77% year-over-year increase in Q3 sales, surpassing $400 million, with an adjusted EBITDA over $50 million. The company also forecasted Q4 2024 revenue between $465 million and $470 million, marking an 89% to 91% year-over-year increase, and full-year revenue expected to be between $1.46 billion and $1.465 billion.

In addition, Hims & Hers Health announced a partnership with Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) to streamline access to FDA-approved obesity medication Zepbound. The collaboration involves integrating with LillyDirect, a self-pay pharmacy channel.

The company also expanded its board of directors, appointing Deb Autor as a new independent director. Analysts have noted these developments, with TD Cowen reaffirming its Buy rating on Hims & Hers Health, while BofA Securities downgraded it from Buy to Underperform. Piper Sandler and Needham raised their price targets, maintaining Neutral and Buy ratings respectively.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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