Amplicon to Buy 5% of Outstanding Shares

Amplicon Inc. said Wednesday that it will acquire and retire up to 600,000 shares of its common stock, or about 5% of the shares outstanding.

The Santa Ana company has $57 million in cash and investments and sees the stock repurchase plan as a way to use some of that money to boost its stock value. When a company buys its own stock, it reduces the number of shares that are publicly traded. That usually improves the value of the shares because each then represents a larger stake in the company.

Amplicon leases high technology equipment to clients nationwide through a direct marketing system.

The company’s shares closed at $11.44 in Nasdaq trading Wednesday, up 6 cents.