Oprah is squeezing the shorts once again. The shares of Weight Watchers International are trading higher today despite the absence of relevant news that could impact the stock significantly. However, market observers suggested that Oprah Winfrey’s recently released advertisement is driving the stock upward.
The stock price of Weight Watchers surged more than 24% to $24.02 per share at the time of this writing, around 2:16 in the afternoon in New York.
Oprah’s Weight Watchers advertisement
Oprah’s new Weight Watchers advertisement is creating a buzz and emotions are pouring online. In the commercial, the media mogul talks candidly about herself being overweight and her struggles to lose weight.
She said, “Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be. Many times you look in the mirror, and you don’t even recognize your own self because you got lost, buried in the weight that you carry. Nothing you’ve ever been through is wasted. So every time I tried and failed, every time I tried again, and every time I tried again, has brought me to this most powerful moment to say, ‘If not now, when?”
[drizzle]The new Weight Watchers advertisement featuring Oprah was released on Christmas Eve. Many people expressed their feelings about weight loss on Twitter.Here are some of the people’s comments about her commercial:
The company recently introduced the Beyond the Scale program, a holistic approach to a healthier, happier life that incorporates the evolving needs, mindsets and science around weight management. The program includes the following:
• New SmartPoints plan to make healthy eating simple—Oprah has been using this system to lose weight and eat healthier since she became a member in August. The system goes beyond the calories and previous PointsPlus system as it applies the latest nutritional science to deliver weight loss.
• New fitness approach that fits a busy life— members receive personalized activity goals and have access to the new FitBreak by Weight Watchers app
• A personalized program that serves the lifestyle, goals, and challenges—members get daily and weekly SmartPoints targets based on an assessment. They also receive individualized objectives and relevant content designed to find and fuel inner strength.
Weight Watchers stock performance since Oprah’s investment
Oprah acquired 10% stake in Weight Watchers in October and joined the Board of Directors of the company. The TV host, actress, producer, and media mogul also signed a five-year contract that gives the company the right to use her name and image in advertisement, programs, products, and services subject to her approval.
Over the past three months, the company gained more than 266% in stock value. On October 19 alone, when Oprah’s investment was announced, the shares of Weight Watchers jumped 100%. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock climbed from its lowest price of $3.67 per share to its current trading price.
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