Premier Exhibitions soars on announcement of new CFO
Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRXI) shares are soaring after the developer of museum exhibits announced after the opening that it named a new chief financial officer.
Effective immediately, Harold W. Ingalls will take the helm as the Atlanta, Ga.-based firm’s CFO. Ingalls replaces Steven Couture, who served as CFO of LaRoche Industries Inc. and Serologicals Corp.
Premier Exhibitions shares plunged precipitously on Friday in advance of a news report on ABC’s 20/20 that questioned the sources for the firm’s “Bodies” exhibit, which displays real human bodies. The 20/20 report alleged that some of the bodies in the exhibit came from prisoners who had been executed in China. In response to the report, Premier posted sworn affidavits on its website that asserted the people in the exhibit appeared to die of natural causes.
Also on Tuesday, Premier reported that its board of directors authorized a share repurchase program to buyback up to 3 million shares of common stock. Unless the board terminates the program, the repurchase program will last until Dec. 31 or until 3 million shares have been repurchased. In a regulatory filing, Premier said it will use the cash it has or its credit facility to fund the purchases.
In midday trading, PRXI shares are climbing 23.08%, or $0.99, at $5.28. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $4.27 to $18.62.
