A $500k buyback is not peanuts, it has been less than 2 months since they announced the buyback and during most of that time the stock was above $10 and they also had a quiet period (Keep in mind they made $1.4 EPS in 2010, so thats a buyback at a P/E of 7ish. Not like those companies not willing to buyback at a P/E of 3). If the buyback usage remains at $500k when they report the following quarter's, then yes I will be disappointed given the price the stock is trading at right now.
Until we get more information, given that they HAVE used some of the buyback, i'm willing to give them some benefit of the doubt. $500k has to buy SOMETHING from investors, eh?
Nobody is saying that some caution is not warranted, we have been disappointed too many times in this space. But come on, can't we even be fair enough to give them a conditional "Way to go, Kid!" when we see something positive? If we are really that negatively biased right now that we can't do this, we are probably closer to a sector bottom than I thought.
-Fernando