NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Gen-Probe said after the close of the market on Tuesday that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million of the firm’s common stock over the next two years.
The San Diego-based molecular diagnostics firm has roughly 54.2 million shares of common stock outstanding and has plenty of cash on hand to fund the buyback program. As of the end of June, Gen-Probe had $499.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, as well as no debt.
“Based on our healthy balance sheet and strong operating cash flows, we believe we can increase long-term shareholder value and offset dilution from employee stock programs by buying back stock, while at the same time retaining the strategic and operational flexibility to invest appropriately in our business,” Herm Rosenman, Gen-Probe’s CFO, said in a statement.
In Tuesday trade on the Nasdaq, shares of Gen-Probe closed up .4 percent at $58.18, well off of a 52-week high of $71.84 reached in October 2007.