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Hyunsoo Rim

Novo and Lilly rise, Hims falls on FDA “illegal copycat drugs” warning

Investors are reacting premarket to US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary signaling a crackdown on unapproved drugs that are marketed as being similar to FDA-approved products.

In an X post on Thursday, Makary said the FDA would “take swift action against companies mass-marketing illegal copycat drugs, claiming they are similar to FDA-approved products,” adding that the agency “cannot verify the quality, safety, or effectiveness” of such products.

While Makary’s post didn’t single out specific companies, it came shortly after telehealth firm Hims & Hers rolled out a much cheaper compounded version of Novo Nordisk’s newly launched Wegovy pill, starting at $49 a month. Hims’ product is not FDA-approved and has not undergone clinical trials to prove safety and efficacy, and Novo yesterday threatened legal and regulatory action.

The launch had initially sparked a sell-off in shares of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, the latter of which is expected to debut its own oral weight-loss pill in April and has pledged lower pricing.

Following Makary’s comments, Hims shares have fallen about 6% as of 6 a.m. ET, while Novo and Lilly partially erased earlier losses, rising 7.5% and 3.8%, respectively.

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J. Edward Moreno

FDA says it will take “decisive steps” against GLP-1 compounders; Reuters reports HHS refers Hims to US DOJ for investigation

The Food and Drug Administration said it would take "decisive steps" to restrict GLP-1 compounding, a day after Hims & Hers announced that it would sell copies ofNovo Nordisk’sWegovy pill.

The FDA specifically called out Hims in the announcement. Additionally, according to Reuters, Department of Health and Human Services' General Counsel, Mike Stuart said on Friday he has referred Hims to the Department of Justice for investigation "over potential violations, following a review of the applicable facts."

This marks a significant shift in tone from the FDA, which has done little to prevent companies like Hims from marketing copies of Novo's lucrative weight loss drugs.

Shares of Hims fell 15% after hours. The stock had already taken a hit after FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in an X post on Thursday that the agency would “take swift action against companies mass-marketing illegal copycat drugs.”

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Hims, long flying under regulators’ radar, finally strikes a nerve with its Wegovy pill copy

Hims, long flying under regulators’ radar, finally strikes a nerve with its Wegovy pill copy

The FDA specifically called out Hims in the announcement. Additionally, according to Reuters, Department of Health and Human Services' General Counsel, Mike Stuart said on Friday he has referred Hims to the Department of Justice for investigation "over potential violations, following a review of the applicable facts."

This marks a significant shift in tone from the FDA, which has done little to prevent companies like Hims from marketing copies of Novo's lucrative weight loss drugs.

Shares of Hims fell 15% after hours. The stock had already taken a hit after FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in an X post on Thursday that the agency would “take swift action against companies mass-marketing illegal copycat drugs.”

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Tasha Matsumoto
2h
Tech rebound propels stocks to best day since May

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all climbed higher as the AI trade was back on.

Chicago Bulls Dennis Rodman (91) and Michael Jordan (23) in action, rebounding vs Charlotte Hornets
Max Knoblauch

Airlines rise, continuing their volatile 2026, as US-Iran talks may foreshadow some oil supply relief

Airline stocks are surging on Friday, as the market appears to be pricing in some medium-term oil pricing relief following talks between the US and Iran. Iranian officials referred to the meeting as “a good beginning.”

Shares of budget carriers, which have tighter margins and are more sensitive to fluctuations in fuel costs, are leading the surge. Frontier Airlines and Allegiant up more than 13%, while major airlines like United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines are also up at least 6%. JetBlue and Alaska Air are similarly up about 6%.

The market more broadly is rebounding on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 1.6% and bitcoin recovering some of this week’s losses.

Airlines have been volatile to start 2026 amid geopolitical tensions, varying annual forecasts, and the impact of winter storms.

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Luke Kawa

The AI supply chain is soaring thanks to Amazon’s capex budget

If tech companies are going to spend way more than expected on capex, well, that means other companies are poised to benefit from that massive spending spree.

Amazon’s plan for $200 billion in business investment this year was the exclamation point to end a reporting period that saw every Magnificent 7 hyperscaler that provides guidance offer a 2026 capex budget well above what Wall Street had anticipated.

Here’s a look at the different parts of the supply chain that are soaring on the persistent demand for, and seeming scarcity of, AI compute:

Big Tech capital expenditure soared in 2025. It’s going up another 50% in 2026.

Big Tech capital expenditure soared in 2025. It’s going up another 50% in 2026.

Here’s a look at the different parts of the supply chain that are soaring on the persistent demand for, and seeming scarcity of, AI compute:

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Matt Phillips

For memory chips, the “parabolic price hike” is continuing to ramp higher

The remarkable run-up in prices for memory chips continued into early February, analysts at Bernstein Research say, driven largely by data center demand from hyperscalers and cloud service providers (CSP).

Prices for NAND flash memory wafers — a type of memory used in devices, as it retains data even when powered down — soared 35% between the end of 2025 and February 2.

Spot prices for DRAM — ubiquitous short-term data storage chips — jumped about 28% in that period. But that massively understates the remarkable shift in pricing for what were long seen as commodity tech hardware inputs. DRAM prices are more than 2,000% over the last year, while NAND prices are up more than 600% in that period.

The ongoing momentum provides still more support for memory chip plays like Micron and Sandisk, which have been big market winners in recent months.

In a note published earlier this week, Bernstein Research analysts wrote:

“The parabolic price hike continued in Jan. Indicated price increase for 1QCY26 is much stronger than we expected and we hence see upside to our near term memory pricing projection. Unrelenting CSP demand remained the main driver. PC and Mobile demand hasn’t been destroyed yet because of lean inventory & pull-forward purchase. Going forward price hike is expected to continue but likely at a slower rate, as PC and Mobile demand should contract meaningfully this year. Price however may stay elevated throughout this year, supported by CSP demand.”

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