The charter of Vista West Corporation specifies that it is authorized to issue 300,000 shares of common stock. Since the company was incorporated, it has sold a total of 160,000 shares (at $16 per share) to the public. It has bought back a total of 25,000. The par value of the stock is $3. When the stock was bought back from the public, the market price was $40.

Required:

1. Determine the authorized shares.