Friday, February 22, 2008

Acme Packet plans $20M stock buy back

Directors at session border controller maker Acme Packet Inc. have launched a stock repurchase program aimed at buying back up to $20 million worth of the company's common stock over the next 12 months.

According to the officials at Burlington-based Acme Packet (Nasdaq: APKT), the purchases of common stock would be executed periodically over the next year in negotiated or block trades, which would permit shares to be repurchased when the company might otherwise be precluded from doing so under insider-trading laws.

The program reflects a feeling among company executives and directors that the stock is undervalued, given the economic climate, according to a statement from Andy Ory, president and CEO.

Acme packet went public in 2006 with an initial price off $9.50 per share, reaching a high of approximately $21 per share in December 2006. Since October 2007, its stock price has gradually fallen from $16.27 per share on October 10 to $6.86 per share yesterday.

For 2007, the company reported $19.6 million in net profit on $113 million in net income.