Wednesday, 7 March 2018

Oprah sells healthy portion of Weight Watchers stock for huge profit

Oprah Winfrey sold about a quarter of her stake in Weight Watchers International, cashing in on significant gains since she first invested.

Winfrey sold shares in the range of about 8 to 9 times the price she paid for them, reflecting the massive increase in the company's value since she vouched for its weight-loss program.

The windfall comes amid continued speculation about a potential presidential campaign for Winfrey despite her repeatedly denying plans to run. A speech Winfrey made at the Golden Globes in January caused many observers to wonder if she was aiming for the White House.

Winfrey bought about 10% of the company in October 2015 at a price of about $6.79 per share — and at the time she also received the right to acquire another 5% of the company for $6.97 per share. Earlier this month, she exercised options to purchase more than 1.4 million shares for $6.97.

Over the course of several days, she sold shares for a range of $58.29 to $63.94.

The transactions were disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission in a public filing.

Winfrey's personal representatives were not available for comment. Weight Watchers declined to comment on shareholder investments.

But Winfrey said in a statement that the move was meant to balance her investment portfolio, not signal anything else.



Source: usatoday

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