Investors are placing more bets on Amazon and fewer on traditional retailers; that's the main takeaway from March's stock results. During the month, Amazon's share price rose 3.9%, while prices at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Hastings all sank by double digits. B&N's share price had the steepest decline, in part because the likelihood of the retailer being sold has faded. Both BAM and Hastings saw their stock prices suffer from lackluster fourth-quarter financial reports. Scholastic's stock also took a hit in March when its third-quarter results disappointed and it lowered its guidance for the full fiscal year. While Scholastic lost ground, both John Wiley and Pearson continued to pick up momentum in the month, with Wiley's share price the big winner on the Publishers Weekly Stock Index.
Winners
| Company | Feb. 28 | Mar. 31 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Wiley | 47.81 | 50.84 | 6.3% |
| CBS | 23.86 | 25.04 | 4.9 |
| Amazon | 173.29 | 180.13 | 3.9 |
| Pearson | 17.17 | 17.80 | 3.7 |
| McGraw-Hill Cos. | 38.68 | 39.40 | 1.9 |
Losers
| Barnes & Noble | 13.39 | 9.19 | -31.3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books-A-Million | 5.92 | 4.13 | -30.2 |
| Hastings Ent. | 5.69 | 4.76 | -16.3 |
| Scholastic | 31.40 | 27.04 | -13.9 |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 6.50 | 6.00 | -7.7 |
| Publishers Weekly | |||
| Stock Index | 476.31 | 475.17 | -0.2 |
| Dow Jones Aver. | 12,226.34 | 12,319.73 | 0.8 |
