PTC Therapeutics authorizes share buyback of up to $500m

The board's authorization sets a ceiling, and management decides how fast to buy and by what route.

PTC Therapeutics' board has approved a new program under which the company may buy back up to $500m of its outstanding common stock.

Chief Executive Matthew B. Klein said the program "reflects our deep conviction in the strength of the Company and the prospects for near- and long-term growth." That is his view of the business. The authorization itself does not bear it out.

The $500m is a ceiling. PTC does not have to spend all of it, and management sets the pace. It can buy on the open market, through pre-set trading plans, in privately negotiated deals or through accelerated share repurchases, and can switch between them at its discretion.