Panera Bread approves $600 million share repurchase program

Panera Bread Co. said Thursday that its board has approved a new three-year share repurchase program of up to $600 million. The new program will replace the old one, which was scheduled to expire on June 4, 2017. Panera shares are inactive in after-hours trading, but are up 6.4% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is down 0.2% for the year to date.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.