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Weight Watchers ralled Wednesday on news that Oprah Winfrey will not be selling any more of her stock in the company this year.
Ms Winfrey, who spurred a comeback at Weight Watchers International Inc when she bought a stake in the company in 2015, is cashing in on the turnaround.
Winfrey made $110 million this month by selling two million shares of the company, most of which came from exercising options, according to a regulatory filing. She also donated 361,000 shares to her charitable foundation, which sold them for $22.6 million.
The billionaire media mogul unloaded the shares to diversify her investment portfolio and make the donation, according to a statement from the company Tuesday. Winfrey won’t sell additional shares this year, Weight Watchers said.
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The news didn’t faze investors. Weight Watchers shares, which had dropped the previous seven straight trading days, climbed as much as 7.8 percent to $62.99 on Wednesday. – Bloomberg
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