Company Dec. 29 Jan.31 % Change
January was a bad month for both the Publishers Weekly Stock Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with the PWSI falling 7.3% compared to 4.6% for the Dow. Stock prices rose at only four companies in January, while falling at 13. Courier Corp. had the largest decline, with its price off nearly 20%. The company reported a disappointing first quarter during the month and cut is forecast for the full year. Amazon, despite reporting record sales and profits, had 16.1% decline due in part to analysts' concerns about the e-tailers operating margins. The big winner in January was Audible, whose stock price jumped 28% following news that Amazon had reached an agreement to buy the company for $11.50 per share (see p. 15). Random House was an early investor in Audible and its stake in the company is now worth nearly $16 million.
SOURCE: REED BUSINESS INFORMATION
Winners
Audible 8.92 11.42 28.0%
Educational Dev. Corp. 5.47 6.28 14.8
Borders Group 10.65 11.29 6.0
Marvel 26.71 28.15 5.4
Losers
Courier Corp. 33.01 26.50 -19.7
Amazon 92.64 77.70 -16.1
Franklin Elec. Pub. 3.15 2.80 -11.1
Pearson 14.49 12.90 -11.0
Books-A-Million 11.92 10.67 -10.5
Reed Elsevier 53.90 48.44 -10.1
John Wiley & Sons 42.84 39.42 -8.0
Publishers Weekly
Stock Index 491.17 455.33 -7.3
Dow Jones Aver. 13,264.82 12,650.36 -4.6