RE:What a dream for buybacksYes the capital gains tax situation is keeping a lid on the share price for the moment and is giving ATH the opportunity to buyback more than might be the case. However I think we are a long way from where the outstanding share count needs to be in order to see a meaningful affect when buyers do come in. I would say that the share count needs to be in the 450mil range, down about 100mil from where it is today. With the some of cash they have on hand, an SIB could eliminate more than half of that in one chunk.
Regarding the new capital gains rate increase, one has to keep in mind that you have to have a gain in the first place so lets hope ATH can break out of the 4.80 - 5.10 doldrums trading range and then deal with paying the cap gains tax later.