Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical (NYSE:VAR) announced today the authorization of a $6 million common stock buyback program, authorized by its board of directors.
The new buyback tacks onto an existing $8 million program, $6 million of which has been repurchased already, that closes at the end of this year.
The latest repurchasing plan extends from Dec. 30, 2013, to Dec. 31, 2014, and Varian plans to retire the shares upon repurchase, according to an SEC filing.
The announcement comes just weeks after the radiosurgery systems maker fell short on its Q4 earnings, with investors shaving some 7% from the company’s share price after the company posted a profit slide of 2.4% on sales growth of 1.8%. Varian blamed slower sales growth on canceled orders during the quarter.
VAR shares took a modest hit today, trading down by 0.2% at $74.46 as of about 4:10 p.m.