WeightWatchers Tumbles After Largest Shareholder Sells Stake
- Shares fell 19% Thursday after announcing the block trade
- Artal Group was an investor since 1999, one of its longest
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WW International, better known as WeightWatchers, shares plummeted after the company said it has lost its largest shareholder.
The stock fell 19% Thursday after the company announced that investment firm Artal Group sold its remaining stake in the wellness company in a Rule 144 block trade. Artal was one of its longest investors, having purchased the stock in 1999 from Heinz and maintained a controlling interest from its initial public offering in 2001 through 2018, a press release said. Artal had owned nearly 15 million shares of WW, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.