NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - St Jude Medical Inc's board has authorized the medical device maker to buy back up to $500 million of its stock, the company said on Friday.
The stock buyback announcement comes after St. Jude warned earlier this month that third-quarter profit would miss its previous forecast, sending its shares down sharply.
"St. Jude Medical has a robust internal research and development pipeline," St. Jude Chief Executive Officer Daniel Starks said in a statement.
"We intend to continue our commitment to funding these growth drivers in 2010 and beyond by reinvesting any earnings per share benefit from the share repurchase program back into our business."

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Keywords: STJUDE/ (lewis.krauskopf@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6082;Reuters Messaging:Lewis.Krauskopf.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.