SiliconBeat

EHealth, the online marketplace for health insurance based in Mountain View, said today that its board of directors approved a stock repurchase program that would allow the company to buy back up to 10 percent of its outstanding shares or up to $30 million of them, whichever is less.

The move came after shares of eHealth, which the company first offered to the public two years ago at $14 each, traded at a new post-IPO low Tuesday of $9.56, before closing at $10.55. The buyback news failed to cheer investors Wednesday when they drove its shares down 59 cents, or 5.6 percent, to close at $9.96.

The company reported earnings for its 2008 third quarter last month that showed a 19 percent  drop in net income on a 24 percent increase in sales. Results included a non-cash charge of $955,000 for stock-based compensation that was 173 percent higher than the year-ago quarter.