Is the Oprah Effect Starting to Show Up in Weight Watchers Results?

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Oprah Winfrey’s partnership with Weight Watchers International Inc. may be starting to pay off for the long-struggling company, according to a report from ITG Investment Research.

The number of people signing up for Weight Watchers improved in the fourth quarter, ITG analyst John Tomlinson said in a report. Though some of that stemmed from favorable comparisons with the year-earlier period, Winfrey’s backing of the company may have been a factor, he said. The optimistic outlook helped send the shares up 4.7 percent to $10.81 on Tuesday.