Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Business: Oprah Speech "Bulks Up" Interest in Weight Watchers

-NY Post

Wall Street is hungry for Weight Watchers shares after Oprah Winfrey delivered a rousing speech at the Golden Globes that prompted speculation she might run for president.
Winfrey, who signed on as the Weight Watchers pitchwoman in October 2015, sent shares of the weight-loss plan soaring 13.7 percent, to $53.35 per share, in Monday afternoon trading.
On Monday, CNN reported that Winfrey has been “actively thinking” about running for president for months, citing two unnamed “close friends” as sources.
That’s despite Winfrey’s backstage denials on Sunday that she’s planning a presidential run after she told a TV audience of 19 million it’s a “new day” when it comes to race, gender and the fight for equality.
“She is perceived as a celebrity for good — not greed — and has people thinking they want to go wherever she goes,” Marian Salzman, CEO of Havas PR, told The Post.
“Her halo is clean enough and broad enough to take people anywhere,” Salzman said. “Plus, she has legitimacy as a dieter.”
The 63-year-old media mogul, who became a 10-percent owner of Weight Watchers when she signed on to become the public face of the brand, has already booked a gain of more than 600 percent on her investment.
On Monday alone, the spike in Weight Watchers shares enlarged the value of Winfrey’s stake by nearly $40 million, to $340 million. Still, that’s less than a 10th of her $3.6 billion in net worth, according to Bloomberg.

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