The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price didn't join in the broader market rally in October.
Shares in the fresh milk and infant formula company closed out September trading for $5.40 and finished October swapping hands for $5.26 apiece.
That puts the A2 Milk shares down 2.6% over the month just past, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) managed to gain 6%.
Here's what happened.
What happened in October?
The A2 Milk share price had a solid start to the month.
On 3 October, the company reported it had renewed its import and distribution arrangements with China State Farm Agribusiness Holding Shanghai (CSFA). The renewed agreement runs for a period of five years.
A2 Milk has partnered with CSFA since 2013 to import its China product labels.
The A2 Milk share price gained 5.1% the following day, 4 October.
But shares edged lower or traded flat over the following days, despite A2 Milk commencing its share buyback on 5 October.
Splashing out NZ$150 million (AU$163 million), the company intends to buy back some 37.2 million shares over a 12-month period at market prices.
However, as my Fool colleague James Mickleboro noted at the time, the commencement day of the buyback doesn't mean the company is obliged to buy shares. Indeed, it can "suspend without notice or vary or terminate the buyback program at any time".
A2 Milk shares dropped another 1% on 25 October. That was when the company announced the pending departure of its chief operations officer, Shareef Khan. Khan started with the company in 2012.
How has the A2 Milk share price performed in 2022?
While the A2 Milk share price underperformed the benchmark in October, the company is still outperforming over the calendar year.
Since the opening bell on 4 January, A2 Milk shares are down 3% compared to a 9% loss posted by the ASX 200.
