BlackBerry Amends Share Repurchase Plan To Buyback Up To 5.8% Of Its Float

Shares of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ: BBRY) were trading higher by more than 3 percent early Friday afternoon in reaction to the company's announcement that it has increased its share repurchase program.

BlackBerry announced it has received the necessary approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to amend its existing share repurchase program. Under the new plan, the company is authorized to buyback up to 27 million common shares, or 5.8 percent of the public float.

Under the old authorization program, BlackBerry was authorized to buyback up to 12 million of its common shares, or 2.5 percent of the public float.

BlackBerry noted that it had purchased and canceled approximately 9.921 million common shares (representing 2.1 percent of the public float) during the period of June 29, 2015 through January 29, 2016.

Finally, the company stated that the purchase of its common stock "represents attractive investment given current equity market conditions."