BlackBerry's Stock After Receiving OK To Buy Back More Shares

BlackBerry Ltd.'s stock ran up 3.1% in premarket trade Friday, after the smartphone maker said it received regulatory approval to more than double the number of shares it can repurchase. The company said it can now buy back 27 million shares, or 5.8% of the public float, up from 12 million shares, or 2.5% of the float. Under Toronto Stock Exchange rules for normal course issuer bids, BlackBerry is allowed to buy back a maximum of 578,619 shares, or 25% of the average daily trading volume. The stock has plunged 26% so far this year, and 3.5% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has lost 7.4% year to date and 9.4% in three months.