Buyback Band-Aid

A $3 billion expansion of its share buyback program won’t help Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) address the long-term pipeline problems that concern a trio of buysiders, who would rather see the big biotech put the spending toward padding its pipeline.

On Thursday, Celgene said its board authorized a share repurchase program for up to an additional $3 billion of common stock, on top of the $5 billion buyback it started in February. Based on the stock’s $77.66 close on Wednesday, before the news was announced, the new program comprises about 38.6 million shares -- about 5% of shares outstanding. ...