COMPANY JULY 31 AUG. 31 % CHANGE
After falling 5.2% in July, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index dropped another 4.1% in August. Stock prices at only four companies rose in the month, while prices dropped at 13. McGraw-Hill had the biggest loss in the month, although investors' concerns were largely focused on the company's credit-rating division Standard & Poor's. The strong results turned in by the three bookstore chains because of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sales couldn't stop the stock prices from falling at Book-A-Million and Borders. It was a different story at Barnes & Noble, where chairman Len Riggio's decision to buy 100,000 shares of his company's stock helped to provide a lift to its share price.
Source: Reed Business Information
Winners
Barnes & Noble 33.55 36.07 7.5%
Scholastic 32.18 34.08 5.9
Amazon 78.54 79.91 1.7
Losers
McGraw-Hill 60.50 50.46 -16.7%
Books-A-Million 15.77 13.32 -15.5
R.R. Donnelley 42.26 35.82 -15.2
Borders Group 16.36 15.00 -8.3
Marvel 24.23 22.60 -6.7
Pearson 15.99 14.93 -6.6
Courier Corp. 37.66 35.94 -4.6
Publishers Weekly
Stock Index 507.81 486.49 -4.1%
Dow Jones Aver. 13,211.99 13,357.74 -1.1%