Trading in Lumber Liquidators shares briefly halted this morning, stock plunges about 10% on word of raid by federal agencies on company's Toano, Virginia, headquarters
Audrey Dixon
NORFOLK, Virginia
,
September 27, 2013
(The Virginian-Pilot)
–
Trading of shares of Lumber Liquidators Inc., a nationwide flooring retailer, was briefly halted this morning and the stock plunged about 10 percent in the wake of an announcement that federal agencies raided the company's Toano headquarters on Thursday.
The company said in a prepared statement that the court-ordered search of its headquarters and another location in the Richmond area had to do with certain imports it made.
Lumber Liquidators sells hardwood, bamboo, cork, and laminate floors, and it imports products through Hampton Roads port facilities. It has warehouses in Suffolk and Hampton and announced earlier this year that it would be consolidating those operations into a larger distribution facility in the Richmond area.
Andrew Parmentier, an analyst in Washington with Height Securities, issued a report today citing "early reports" that Lumber Liquidators may be under investigation for potential violations related to harvesting of wood in Russia, "in the native region of the Siberian tiger," a protected species.
However, the company hasn't specified that as the reason for the search Thursday.
The negative news for Lumber Liquidators came as Zacks Investment Service moved the company to its list of No. 1-rated stocks today.
The company's stock had been trading near its all-time highs on the New York Stock Exchange before today's plunge.
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