THQ Stock Price Down 25% Amid Poor Reviews For Homefront Release

Nasdaq traders exchanged 6.9 million shares of THQ stock -- more than four times the daily average -- in a day that saw the stock's price drop nearly 26 percent to $4.40 per share, though a small portion of that decrease has been reversed in after hour trading as of this writing. The volatility follows a 7 percent rise on Monday to a close a $5.94 per share, a trend that seems to have been stopped by a several lukewarm reviews for alternate history first-person shooter Homefront, which hits stores today. The game currently has an average score of 72 on popular review aggregator MetaCritic. All the reviews below this average were posted online today, while the eight highest reviews for the title -- all of which earned the game an adjusted score of 85 or higher -- were posted in the four days prior to release. Earlier this month, THQ revealed Homefront was the most pre-ordered title in the company's history, attracting over 200,000 early purchasers. But sales for some other THQ releases have not been as strong recently. An analyst note from Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter shows the company's Wii-based uDraw tablet, which was a major hit over the holidays, sold just 26,000 units in February, according to NPD. In addition, colorful platformer De Blob 2 sold "well below" an expected 75,000 units for the month, Pachter said. Today's drop puts THQ stock at its lowest level since November 2010, when it briefly saw a surge to a recent high of $6.41 per share. The stock remains well off from a 52-week high of $8.27, reached in April 2010, and a historic high of $36.16 achieved in 2007.