WWE stock closes up 17% in wake of Vince McMahon rejoining Board of Directors

Vince McMahon’s primary argument for returning to WWE’s Board of Directors is that he’s needed to ensure the company’s shareholders get the maximum value as a result of new media rights deals or a potential sale of the entire corporation.

News of his return today (Jan. 6) certainly didn’t hurt the price of WWE’s publicly traded stock, although its debatable how much of that is due to excitement for McMahon’s return and how much is because of the perception his return means a sale is imminent.

WWE stock closed at $84.27 per share, 16.98% more than when the market opened this morning. The price peaked at $89.43 per share, a point it hit in the late morning after trading was temporarily halted for a pending news update. There was speculation that could be something specific regarding a sale, but turned out to be the company’s confirmation of McMahon’s return and other changes to the Board’s make-up.

Both that peak and the closing price are 52 week highs, but the stock was in the $75-$80 range for about six weeks in October and November of last year — something the Board of Directors reminded McMahon of in its correspondence with him regarding a return last month. There seems to be evidence Wall Street is more interested in the company’s potential sale than Vince’s presence.

How the stock performs in the weeks ahead should tell us more about that.