Oprah Raises WTW to Overweight, Stock Jumps 105%

$13.92 up $7.13 at the close.

From Business Insider:

Oprah made a huge bet on Weight Watchers, and the stock is going parabolic 

Weight Watchers shares are going bonkers.
The stock is up 117% following news that Oprah Winfrey made a big bet on the company.

But given the magnitude of the rally, there may be more than just the "Oprah effect." 

There's speculation that the stock is experiencing a short squeeze. This occurs when short-sellers — who profit from a falling price — are forced to cover their shorts, a process that involves the short-sellers to frantically buy the stock. 

In a press release Monday, the weight-loss-assistance company said Winfrey joined its board and purchased newly issued stock representing a 10% stake of shares outstanding. She also bought options to acquire an additional 5% of fully diluted shares....MORE

Here are the various analyst moves over the last five years via Yahoo Finance:

Upgrades & Downgrades History

Date	Research Firm	Action	From	To
Aug 19, 2015	Morgan Stanley	Upgrade	Underweight	Equal-Weight
Jun 3, 2015	Craig Hallum	Initiated		Hold
Feb 18, 2014	Barclays	Downgrade	Equal Weight	Underweight
Nov 4, 2013	Barclays	Downgrade	Overweight	Equal Weight
Nov 1, 2013	Barclays	Downgrade	Overweight	Equal Weight
May 4, 2012	Standpoint Research	Initiated		Buy
Mar 9, 2012	Barclays Capital	Initiated		Overweight
Feb 15, 2012	Auriga	Downgrade	Buy	Hold
Sep 28, 2011	Auriga	Initiated		Buy
Dec 1, 2010	Wedbush	Initiated		Outperform

Back in a 2009 CSCO post I rambled:

Barclay's overweight/equal weight/underweight rating system gets kinda funny when they talk Weight Watchers, currently at "Underweight".

It's like my dream was made manifest by Ms. Winfrey.