Hims & Hers stock slides after CEO's praise for anti-Israel protesters
Hims & Hers Health Inc. saw its stock slide during Friday's trading session after its CEO praised the "moral courage" of anti-Israel campus protesters and encouraged them to apply for jobs at the health and wellness company.
Hims & Hers, which offers telehealth and online pharmacy services for erectile dysfunction, sexual performance, hair loss treatments, mental health and more, saw its stock slide by 8% Friday amid the controversy. Though it has rebounded by 0.89% in after-hours trading since Friday's close. The drop came as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 450 points, or more than a full percentage point.
The company's stock is up 16.8% year to date but down 4% from a year ago and has seen significant fluctuations in that period, posting single-day gains of about 11% in early November and 31% in late February on favorable earnings news. Its stock is up 14.9% since the company went public in September 2019.
CEO Andrew Dudum wrote last week in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "Moral courage > College degree." He added, "If you're currently protesting against the genocide of the Palestinian people & for your university's divestment from Israel, keep going. It's working.
HIMS FOUNDER OFFERS JOBS TO ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS, HAILS THEIR 'MORAL COURAGE'
"There are plenty of companies & CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline," Dudum added with a link to the Hims & Hers careers page.
Dudum's post comes after some companies and CEOs have criticized campus protesters' behavior in their anti-Israel protests as being antisemitic and have suggested that they wouldn't hire those protesters. The campus protests have disrupted class schedules and graduations and resulted in arrests.
Hims & Hers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dudum's post sparked backlash from other business figures, including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, who replied, "Real moral courage doesn't involve joining a mindless mob, chanting anti-US and other woke pablum, following instructions not to debate or discuss your positions at all yet being indignantly righteous, while large numbers in the mob chant for violence and block Jewish students."
Conservative radio host Jason Rantz ripped Dudum's post and told followers on X, "There are plenty of places to get what they sell that won't require you to support a company that embraces antisemitism."
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Jordan Elist, the founder of Goodnight Mate, which offers erectile dysfunction and male sexual performance products, quoted a post from conservative commentator Ben Domenech, encouraging supporters of Israel to cancel their Hims & Hers subscriptions. And Elist offered those who do so a free month of products from his company.
"Once again, if anyone has canceled their $hims subscription due to their founder / CEO's anti-Semitic remarks, your first month of Goodnight Mate's sexual health solutions is on us. Our way of thanking you for standing on the right side of history," Elist wrote.