I will add that in general I am not fond of the limits on direct sharing that seem to be the result of our current approach to securities regulation.
Does not the company have to pre-announced its plan to run a buyback program (both in the amount and time frame)? Does not pre-broadcasting that achieve the result of making sure everyone has the same information?
Executives also have to file ahead of time paperwork to say that they're buying (selling) stock in the company that they run IIRC.
Is that not sufficient to allow the trading public to make decisions on?
My point is that there often isn't any material nonpublic information underlying the buyback so it only serves as a way to juice the stock price in the short-term by manipulating the psychology of the market. It's also worth noting that these transactions were illegal until Rule 10b-18 specifically exempted them from market manipulation and deception rules.
My issue is that the transaction goes against the concept of a fair market where everyone has equal access to information. When a company buys back stock the market takes it as a "signal" that the shares are undervalued for reasons that are unknown to the public. Maybe management is aware of key information and the shares are indeed undervalued but that isn't always the case. It seems to me that stock buybacks serve a mixed purpose of paying a dividend while also artificially boosting market "confidence" in the short-term.
I'm of the opinion that the market shouldn't be manipulated by subtle hints from management that way.