BlackBerry Ltd. said it has been cleared to buy back up to 31 million of its common shares, for cancellation purposes. That represents about 5.8% of the total shares outstanding, which totaled 531.5 million shares as of May 31, or 6.4% of the public float, which was 481.2 million shares. At Thursday’s stock closing price of $11.06, the buyback could cost $342.9 million, compared with reported total cash balances of $2.6 billion at the end of the fiscal first quarter. The stock tumbled 5.8% in premarket trade, after company reported earlier a surprise profit, but sales that fell more than expected. The stock has rocketed 60.5% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.7%.
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