One of a few local stocks to fare well in Thursday’s Wall Street selloff: Aliso Viejo-based business software maker Quest Software Inc.
The company’s shares closed up 5% on a market value of nearly $1.2 billion.
Quest was one of only two major-exchange Orange County stocks to close up Thursday as the key market indexes each fell more than 7%.
Investors appeared to react to Quest’s announcement late Wednesday that it plans to buy back $135 million to $400 million worth of its shares.
Wall Street generally likes buybacks because they boost a favorite number of analysts and investors,profits expressed on a per share basis.
Quest plans to raise debt of to up to $300 million to finance part of the repurchase. If the company can’t secure funding,a real possibility amid the credit crunch,it plans to use cash on hand.
The company had about $330 million in cash as of June 30. Last month it said it is paying $79 million in cash to acquire Phoenix-based NetPro Computing Inc.
The only other local major-exchange stock to close up Thursday was Anaheim-based Bridgford Foods Corp., which finished 6% higher on a market value of $50 million.
