Updates with Hims & Hers response from paragraph 12

By Nell Mackenzie and Samuel Indyk

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Hedge fund bets against Hims & Hers Health hit their highest in at least a year in January, just before the online telehealth firm clashed with Novo Nordisk over its cut-price weight-loss pill, according to data shared with Reuters by Hazeltree.

Hims HIMS.N withdrew its low-cost pill earlier this month under scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and was hit with fresh lawsuits from former partner Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO - a sequence that wiped a third off its share price in less than a week.

Nearly 65% of available Hims stock was loaned out for short selling last month, Hazeltree said - the most since October 2025, based on data from more than 600 asset managers tracking 16,000 global stocks.

Short sellers borrow shares to bet their prices will fall.

Its shares have fallen more than 50% since the start of 2026. Short interest reached a record high on February 12, according to LSEG data.

On February 5, Hims unveiled a $49 compounded version of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy weight-loss pill, but back-tracked on February 7 after the FDA said it would act against "illegal copycat drugs".

Novo Nordisk sued Hims for patent infringement on February 9. Volatility has previously drawn hedge funds into Hims' stock.

"When we look at the short position that was building as early as the middle of last year, I think it all sprung from the dissolution of the partnership that Hims had with Novo Nordisk," said Ryan MacDonald, senior analyst at Needham.

Without access to a branded weight-loss drug, Hims would be looking at the weight-loss market from the outside, MacDonald added.

Him & Hers said in an email to Reuters "Novo Nordisk's lawsuit is a blatant attack by a Danish company on millions of Americans who rely on compounded medications for access to personalized care."

The statement referred to a post on X made by Him & Hers on February 9.

"Once again, Big Pharma is weaponizing the US judicial system to limit consumer choice," the statement added.

The company did not comment on the shortsellers' positions.

(Reporting by Nell Mackenzie and Samuel Indyk. Editing by Amanda Cooper and Mark Potter)

((Nell.Mackenzie@thomsonreuters.com;))