Weight Watchers (WTW) shares are getting a boost following a filing by the company's general counsel showing he purchased shares in the weight loss company.

SHARE PURCHASE: Weight Watchers said in a regulatory filing on Thursday afternoon that general counsel Michael Colosi purchased 7,110 shares in the company.

RECENT COMPANY NEWS: In May, the Oprah Winfrey-backed diet company posted a surprise profit for the first quarter and reported revenue that also beat analysts' expectations. The company also said it ended the quarter with 3.6M subscribers, up 16% from a year ago. The gains prompted the company to raise its earnings per share view for fiscal year 2017. Weight Watchers has been on a turnaround track since Winfrey took a stake in the company and agreed to become a company spokesperson in October 2015. In addition to "the Oprah Effect," CFO Nick Hotchkin said the company is retaining customers through technology investments and an improved weight loss program. Weight Watchers announced in late April that Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, Inc (HSNI), would join the company as president and CEO in July. The company had been seeking a replacement for Jim Chambers, who resigned in September 2016. Weight Watchers recently announced results from a two-year study published in The Lancet which found that adults with obesity referred to Weight Watchers for one year lost significantly more weight and were able to keep it off for longer "compared to those who either received brief advice and self-help materials, or were referred to a 12-week Weight Watchers program." Those on both the 12- and 52-week Weight Watchers program also had greater blood sugar control and greater reductions in body fat than those on the brief intervention program.

PRICE ACTION: Weight Watchers closed on Thursday up 6.3% at $28.80, just off the 52-week high of $28.95 hit during the session.