Quiksilver Stock Drops 24%, Hits 52-Week Low

The price of Quiksilver Inc.’s shares dropped by 24% Thursday after the sportswear company said orders for young men’s clothing had faltered during its fiscal third quarter.

The company’s stock fell by $5.875 to close in Nasdaq trading at a 52-week low of $20.125. The drop was the latest in a string of downward moves for Quiksilver, which hit a 52-week high of $47 on May 23.

In a preliminary report on its third-quarter business activity, Quiksilver said that sales for the period ended July 31 increased by about 15.6% to $49.4 million. Quiksilver Chairman Robert B. McKnight Jr. said that domestic sales increased by just 4.5% to about $31.1 million, while European sales rose by 40.9% to $18.3 million.

McKnight tied the lower-than-anticipated rise in domestic sales to a slowdown in reorders for young men’s apparel and accessories. The company said its junior women’s lines, including Quiksilver Roxy, Raisins and the Radio Fiji brands, performed “extremely well.”

Retail industry analysts have tied the Costa Mesa-based apparel company’s stock drop to increased competition in the apparel and accessories segment and inflated expectations among investors.

Quiksilver said it plans to announce its full results for the third quarter before the market opens on Sept. 12.