A sizable shareholder in Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. has sold most of its stake in the struggling surf-inspired retailer.
Los Angeles-based NWQ Investment Management Co. cut its stake in Pacific Sunwear to just a handful of shares from a 10.9% stake, according to a Nov. 28 regulatory filing.
The fund now owns 6,419 shares in the company, or less than 1%.
It’s unclear why NWQ decided to sell.
It’s likely the fund wanted to cut its losses with Pacific Sunwear, which has seen its stock fall about 90% for the year.
At the same time, other investors have sold off stakes in publicly held companies to meet the demands of their own investors who want to cash out of funds.
Pacific Sunwear, which runs some 940 mall stores and outlets, has worked hard to rebuild itself after a series of fashion missteps and falling sales.
But the economic downturn hasn’t made a turnaround easy.
The company saw sales at stores open at least a year fall 10% last month.
The stake sale is just one of the recent changes at Pacific Sunwear.
The company announced yesterday that Thomas M. Kennedy, Division President of Pacific Sunwear, resigned from his position to pursue other interests.
Kennedy’s responsbilities are expected to be reassigned to members of the company’s existing management team.
Pacific Sunwear shares were down more than 10% in afterhours trading on a market value of about $115 million.
