(Bloomberg) -- WW International Inc. plunged the most in more than two months Thursday after Eli Lilly and Co. launched a digital health-care platform to deliver weight-loss drugs, posing a threat to a key area of growth for the wellness company.

Shares in WW International, better known as WeightWatchers, tumbled 11% in the biggest one-day drop since Oct. 19. The decline follows a 11% slump on Wednesday after Barclays Plc gave WW its only sell-equivalent rating, saying the company was still in the early stages of its transition to a more digital-focused model. 

WW shares more than doubled last year as the company tapped into the burgeoning market for a new class of weight-loss medicines known as GLP-1s through the acquisition of telehealth obesity-drug provider Sequence in March. Still, analysts tracked by Bloomberg project the stock can gain another 74% over the next 12 months. 

Lilly’s new service, called LillyDirect, will help connect patients with obesity, diabetes and migraines with doctors for prescriptions, and offer home delivery of certain medications through third-party pharmacies. Analysts at Barclays as well as Guggenheim Securities LLC viewed the pullback in WW shares as likely overdone. 

“Consumers are likely to align with trusted brands for weight loss solutions, and — while a pharmaceutical manufacturer is likely at the top of the list — we view WW as one of a few trusted brands given their established decades-long history in the weight-loss space,” Barclays analyst Stephanie Davis wrote in a note to clients. 

Read more: Eli Lilly to Sell Hit Weight-Loss Drugs Directly to Public

Shares in other companies that provide online access to prescription weight-loss drugs also slid on Thursday. LifeMD Inc. slumped 32%, the most since March 2020, while Hims & Hers Health Inc. dropped 6.4%.

D.A. Davidson & Co. analyst Linda Bolton Weiser acknowledged that LillyDirect could have an advantage if weight-loss drug supply shortages continue, since it would have first dibs on the drug supply. Longer term, she expects the winners and losers in the space to be determined by who can provide the best offerings and support for people pursuing weight loss, and said WW has the “strongest brand equity in weight loss.”

--With assistance from Angel Adegbesan.

(Updates share-price moves throughout and chart. Adds analyst commentary.)

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