Soaring Fleetwood Stock Prompts Probe

A day after reporting a decline in sales, shares of Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. soared more than 20% Friday, prompting an inquiry by the New York Stock Exchange.

Fleetwood, one of the nation’s largest makers of recreational vehicles and manufactured housing, responded by saying that it was “not aware of any reason” for the price jump.

During Friday’s trading session, Fleetwood’s shares were up nearly 25% before sliding down to close at $6.18, up $1.07.

More than 1 million shares traded hands, more than four times the average daily volume during the last 10 days. Fleetwood stock had been languishing in the $3 to $5 range since February.

On Thursday, the company reported that sales for its fiscal fourth quarter ended April 27 fell 6% from the year-ago period to $569 million, according to preliminary results. Higher sales from the company’s recreational vehicle division were offset by a large drop in manufactured housing revenue.

Its shares were unchanged Thursday at $5.11.

Fleetwood, based in Riverside, is not scheduled to release final results for its fourth quarter until July.

However, the company has previously said it expects to post a loss for the quarter.