• Just this week, the company produced figures which showed that it lost $88 million in the last three months of 2023 

WeightWatchers took a pounding in early trading Thursday after it was revealed that media icon Oprah Winfrey will leave its board this year, months after she admitted to taking weight loss medications. 

The shares fell 23.5 percent  to $2.92 in premarket hours on Thursday and have more than halved in value so far this year. Short interest for the stock stood at 17.5 percent of the outstanding shares. as of Feb. 28.

Just this week, the company produced figures which showed that it lost $88 million in the last three months of 2023. Over twice what it lost during the same period in 2022.  

Late on Wednesday, WW International said the talk show host, who has been a board member since 2015, will not be standing for re-election at the 2024 annual shareholder meeting.

Winfrey has been in the spotlight in recent months, following her public announcement about using prescription medication to manage her weight. 

In 2023, Oprah shocked the world by admitting to waking weight loss medications

In 2023, Oprah shocked the world by admitting to waking weight loss medications 

Just this week, WeightWatchers produced figures which showed that it lost $88 million in the last three months of 2023

Just this week, WeightWatchers produced figures which showed that it lost $88 million in the last three months of 2023

Currently, there are two approved treatments in the United States for chronic weight management – Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

Winfrey will donate the shares of the company owned by her to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), WeightWatchers said, adding the decision would ‘eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications.’

She owned 1.13 million shares worth $6.34 million as of Jan. 1, LSEG data showed.

Winfrey also intends to donate any future proceeds from her WW stock options to NMAAHC.

WW International has a lower forward price-to-earnings multiple – a common benchmark to value stocks – of 13.55 compared to 17.21 for its peer USANA Health Services. 

However in March, the company announced that it was getting into the prescription weight loss business.

Sequence is a telehealth provider that offers users access to drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity under the brand names including Ozempic, Wegovy and Trulicity. 

The drugs all work by the same mechanism: They trigger the release of insulin, block sugar production in the liver and suppress appetite.

WeightWatchers offers subscribers meal plans with the goal of losing excess weight. With the acquisition of Sequence, it is tapping into a red-hot market for prescription drugs that address obesity, and broadening what it offers to customers.

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Post source: Daily mail