Oprah takes a $27 million hit on her Weight Watchers investment
12:41 PM ET 2/26/16 | MarketWatch By Tomi Kilgore, MarketWatch
Oprah is still up nearly $30 million on her initial bet, and could be up $45 million if she exercises her options
Oprah Winfrey took a huge hit on her investment in Weight Watchers International Inc.'s stock on Friday, but is still winning big since she became one of the top shareholders four months ago.
The stock plunged 27% in active midday trade, after the weight-loss company reported late Thursday a surprise fourth-quarter loss (
www.marketwatch.com/story/weight-watcher...erly-loss-2016-02-25). Volume just after noon Eastern was already more than double the full-day average over the past 30 days, according to FactSet.
The company disclosed in a filing on Oct. 19 that Winfrey had bought 6,362,103 shares of Weight Watchers (WTW) , or 10% of the shares outstanding, for $43.2 million. Friday's share-price tumble means her investment is worth about $27 million less than it was at Thursday's closing price of $15.55.
Don't miss:Ophah gives Weight Watchers investors their best day ever (
www.marketwatch.com/story/oprah-gives-we...-day-ever-2015-10-19).
Since the stock's post-Oprah investment closing peak of $26.61 on Nov. 18, Winfrey has seen paper profits of as much as $97.4 million evaporate.
But Winfrey bought her shares at the Oct. 18 closing price of $6.79, filings show, meaning she is still up $28.7 million, or 66%, on her initial investment.
If she exercises her option to buy an additional 3,513,468 shares, at the same price of $6.79, she could be up as much as $44.5 million on her Weight Watchers bet.
Winfrey has to wait nearly 20 months before she can start cashing in, since she made a deal with the company in October not to sell any shares for two years (
www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/105319/0...346212/d59417d8k.htm), subject to certain limited exceptions.
