How Does Oprah's Weight Correlate With Weight Watchers' Stock Price?

Oprah may have lost 23 pounds using Weight Watchers International, Inc. WTW’s system, but her portfolio has gotten a lot heavier since her October investment in Weight Watchers’ stock. Here’s a look at how Oprah’s headline-grabbing weight loss has turned around Weight Watchers stock since a timely October investment by the media mogul.
 

In the year prior to Oprah’s October 19 announcement that she had taken a 10 percent stake in the company, Weight Watchers stock was down a whopping 73.6 percent. However, in the first month following the announcement, the stock surged an incredible 91.1 percent, nearly doubling the value of Oprah’s stake.
 

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It’s not surprising that Operah waited until after acquiring her stake in Weight Watchers to announce on October 23 that she had dropped 15 pounds since mid-August on the system.

However, after peaking in late-November, the stock once again took a downward turn. The sell-off continued until Oprah’s announcement this week that she has now lost 23 pounds since beginning the program in August once again sent the stock soaring more than 18 percent in Tuesday’s trading session.

If history is any indication, this inverse correlation between Oprah’s dress size and Weight Watchers’s share price means that the superstar has a lot more riding on her current diet in 2016 than simply how good she looks in her next photo shoot.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.