CA Inc., an information technology software company, said its board has recently approved plans to buy back as much as $250 million of the company's stock. The company had 518.3 million shares outstanding as of July, valued at $8.3 billion based on Wednesday's closing price of $15.91. CA will fund the program with available cash on hand and may repurchase shares on the open market from time to time, based on market conditions and other factors.

Online advertising company ValueClick recently posted a quarterly profit that topped market estimates, and boosted its share buyback program by $100 million. The company said weakness in its comparison shopping and search segment was offset by better-than-expected performance by its display advertising business in the third quarter. For the full year, the company expects earnings of 55 cents to 56 cents a share on revenue of $633 million to $638 million. In July, it had forecast earnings of 69 cents to 71 cents a share on revenue of $655 million to $675 million for the year.

The Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based tech company announced that it will repurchase as much $400 million in common stock through a modified Dutch auction tender offer with an expected price of $13.25-$15.50 a share. If the full buyback is completed, it would represent 26% of outstanding shares. The buybacks will be financed through cash on hand and $300 million in debt. The company also announced that president Doug Garn will replace Vinny Smith as CEO. Smith will now become executive chairman. On August 5, 2008 the company reported second-quarter earnings with total revenues increasing 21.9% to $173.4 million, compared with revenues of $142.3 million in the same period last year. Net income came in at $8.3 million, or 8 cents a share, up slightly from $7.9 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding items, it earned 17 cents a share, but analysts were expecting 21 cents a share, which sent share down 10%. It's also good to see that MKM Partners lifted their rating on Quest to buy from neutral, noting the CEO switch and the buyback. Analyst Kevin Shea commented on CEO change, "Mr. Garn has a reputation as a results-oriented executive, and we expect him to focus the company on margin expansion and shareholder returns." Shea was also bullish on the buyback which could boost 2009 EPS by 12%. He has a $16-dollar price target, representing 40% upside potential.

The Houston-based oil and gas company announced that it will buy back up too $100 million in common stock. The repurchases will be made from time to time depending on market conditions. "The Board's authorization of the unit repurchase program reflects its confidence in Linn Energy's business and its belief that our units are significantly undervalued," said Michael C. Linn, Chairman and CEO. "Furthermore, this program underscores our strong balance sheet and liquidity position. Linn Energy's current yield is approximately 22%, and we believe that repurchasing our units at these levels will deliver value to our unitholders." On August 7, 2008 the company reported a net loss of $712.1 million or $6.23 a share, compared with a net loss of $17.1 million or 29 cents a share in the same period last year. Total revenues were negative $611 million compared with revenues of $18 million is the year-ago period. Oil, natural gas and NGL revenues for the quarter were $255.6 million, compared to $32.5 million in the same quarter last year. Despite the negative earnings, Linn offered some positive comments, "The Company posted the highest production rates, adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow in its history."

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker announced that it's board approved the buyback of up to $750 million in common stock. As the company continues to evaluate different capital structure alternatives it added that it may increase the repurchase amount to $1.5 billion. The timing of the repurchases depends on market conditions and the company offered no expiration date. On October 14th the company reported preliminary first-quarter results with revenue between $500 million and $502 million. Maxim expects to earn a profit between 19 cents a share and 22 cents a share. In the same period last year, revenue was $522.7 million and the company did not issue any earnings because they were restating their finances. Cowen and Company has an outperform rating on the stock and issued a bullish note regarding the huge buyback plan, which represent about 16% of the total outstanding shares. The analysts commented, "Given the excessive cash position accumulated over the past two years, we are encouraged by the company's decision to return shareholder wealth at the current depressed valuations."

The maker of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works announced that its board authorized a $250 million buyback plan. The company has returned almost $7 billion to shareholders over the past 5 years through dividends and buyback programs. On August 21, 2008 the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer announced second- quarter results. Net income dropped to $102 million, or 30 cents a share, from $264.4 million, or 67 cents a share in the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter fell to $2.3 billion from $2.6 billion last year and same-store sales decreased by 7%. Although the numbers look bad, they beat analysts' expectations and sent shares up 5.9% in pre-market trading. Leslie Wexner, chairman and CEO said, "We are very pleased with our performance in this challenging economic environment. Our disciplined management of inventory and expenses resulted in earnings per share that exceeded our initial expectations and increased 35% over last year's comparable result in spite of negative same store sales in the quarter." Limited also inflated its full-year profit outlook. The company now expects to earn $1.45 to $1.60 a share, up from the previous estimate of $1.38 to $1.58 a share. We took notice when we saw that C.L. King and Associates has an accumulate rating on the company. After Limited's annual meeting, analyst Mark Montagna commented, "Yesterday's annual update meeting provided solid insight into the secure nature of an investment in Limited Brands. However, our key take-away was that meaningful operating margin expansion is not likely until 2010." Mark added, "2010 should see the benefit of exploiting the technology investments at Victoria's Secret (VS) and Bath & Body Works (BBW), more finely tuned assortments at BBW, the ongoing appeal of VS as a brand and a greater critical mass of stores in Canada." Mark has a $20-dollar price target on the stock, representing 67% upside potential.

The Abbott Park, IL-based pharmaceutical company announced that it will buyback up to $5 billion in common stock. The repurchases will be made from time to time depending on market conditions and the buyback has no time limit. On October 15, 2008 Abbott reported strong third-quarter results. Profit surged 51% to $1.08 billion, or 69 cents a share, from $717 million, or 46 cents a share in the same period last year. Total revenue came in at $7.5 billion, a 17.6% gain from the year-ago period when revenue was $6.38 billion. The jump in profit was fueled by strong sales of its arthritis medication Humira and heart-related devices like stents. "All of Abbott's businesses are performing exceptionally well, ahead of expectations," said Miles D. White, chairman and CEO. "Abbott remains well-positioned, with strong core growth franchises, including our emerging vascular business, which is rapidly becoming a significant contributor to Abbott's growth." The company now expects full-year earnings between $3.31 and $3.33 a share, up from $3.24 to $3.28 a share. After Abbott reported the exceptionally strong quarter, Stanford Group Company raised its price targets on the stock. Analyst Jan Wald commented, "We are increasing our price target to $66 from $61, driven by our increased expectations for Xience, Humira and Trilipix. Our price target would be even higher, however we have increased our market risk premium assumption to 9.5% from 8.5% in our model to reflect the current market environment." Wald has a buy rating on ABT.

The world's second largest software company announced that it will add $8 billion to its buyback plan. This move brings the total repurchase amount up to $9.3 billion in common stock, with no expiration date. Oracle has about 5.15 billion shares outstanding worth $93.52 billion at current prices. On September 18, 2008 the Redwood City, Calif.-based company announced spectacular first-quarter results with net income surging 28% to $1.1 billion, or 21 cents a share, from $840 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Total revenues were up 18% to $5.3 billion. Oracle's operating margin reached 40%, up 3.5% from a year ago and the highest ever for a fiscal quarter. The stronger-than-expected earnings sent shares 6% higher. "Oracle has once again increased its database market share according to the latest Gartner research report," said Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison. "Oracle's 49% market share in the survey year 2007 was greater than the market share of the next 4 vendors combined: IBM, Microsoft, Teradata, and Sybase." After the buyback was announced JMP Securities issued a bullish note on the stock. Analyst Patrick Walravens commented, "Assuming Oracle purchased $9.0 billion over the next 5 quarters ($5.0 billion in FY09 and $4.0 billion in FY10) at yesterday's closing price of $18.16, we estimate that the buyback could be $0.05 accretive in FY09 and $0.12 accretive in FY10." He has an outperform rating on the stock and $23-dollar price target, representing 27% upside potential.