Despite losers outnumbering winners by eight to six, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 3.5% in July, easily beating the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell 2.2% in the month. Hastings Entertainment had the largest percentage increase in the month, but it was Amazon that posted the big number—its stock price added over $18 in July as the e-tailer posted better than expected sales and earnings for the second quarter. Scholastic's stock also benefited from a stronger than expected quarterly report (in Scholastic's case for the fourth quarter in fiscal 2011) and investors gave a big boost to the stock as a reward. In the wake of Borders's liquidation, B&N's stock price rose 4.9% in a month of volatile trading for the dominant bookstore chain, while Books-A-Million's stock price fell 10.9%. The biggest loser in July was Courier Corp., as the printer/publisher had a weak third-quarter report.
Winners
| Company | June 30 | July 29 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hastings Ent. | 4.10 | 4.63 | 12.9% |
| Amazon | 204.49 | 222.52 | 8.8 |
| Scholastic | 26.60 | 28.72 | 8.0 |
| Barnes & Noble | 16.58 | 17.40 | 4.9 |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 5.39 | 5.50 | 2.0 |
Losers
| Courier Corp. | 11.05 | 9.61 | -13.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books-A-Million | 3.47 | 3.09 | -10.9 |
| CBS | 28.39 | 27.37 | -3.9 |
| John Wiley | 52.01 | 50.06 | -3.7 |
| R.R. Donnelley | 19.61 | 19.15 | -2.3 |
| Publishers Weekly Stock Index | 508.23 | 523.72 | 3.5 |
| Dow Jones Aver. | 12,414.34 | 12,143.24 | -2.2 |
