
Pandora shares fell as much as 7.3% in Copenhagen trading, their steepest drop since May 24. The stock has lost about 37% this year, as investors question management’s ability to deal with challenging markets in the US and Asia.
Pandora said on Thursday it will cut retail prices on most products in China by about 15% to combat grey market trade and in an effort to “balance the retail price difference in the mainland Chinese market and other markets.”
The company said in May that unauthorised sellers are increasingly importing Pandora products from markets where they’re cheaper, such as Australia, and then selling them in China. The company reported sales growth in the world’s second-biggest economy of just 16% (in yuan terms) in the first quarter, down from 62% in the fourth quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Anders Colding Friis said at the time he would increase advertising spending in China to help boost sales. Pandora is due to report second-quarter results on August 14.
Pandora has in recent quarters been under siege by hedge funds betting against the stock. More recently, though, short interest has receded and is now at about 9% of the share capital compared with an April peak of just over 12%, according to data compiled by IHS Markit. That’s still significantly above the roughly 1% in short interest in Pandora shares back in early 2017.