Company Jul. 31 Aug. 31 % Change
The ability to increase second-quarter profits while its rivals posted declines helped push up the stock price of Books-A-Million by 46.5% in August, giving the bookstore chain the best stock performance on the Publishers Weekly Stock Index last month. In contrast, a disappointing quarter by Borders dropped that retailer's stock price by 20.1%, the largest decline on the PWSI. Barnes & Noble had an eventful August, acquiring B&N College Booksellers and announcing new digital initiatives plus posting a mixed second quarter, which all resulted in a 10.2% decline in its stock price. The share price of Marvel jumped by more than 22% following word that Disney was buying the company in a deal worth about $50 per share. Overall, the share price of 10 companies on the PWSI rose in August with prices falling at five.
Source: Reed Business Information
Winners
Books-A-Million 9.27 13.58 46.5%
R.R. Donnelley 13.90 17.84 28.3
CBS 8.19 10.35 26.4
Marvel Ent. 39.55 48.37 22.3
Scholastic 22.55 24.36 8.0
Losers
Borders Group 3.97 3.17 -20.1
Hastings Ent. 4.56 3.95 -13.4
Barnes & Noble 23.03 20.69 -10.2
Amazon 85.76 81.19 -5.3
Courier Corp. 16.54 16.10 -2.7
Publishers Weekly
Stock Index 337.75 353.84 4.8
Dow Jones Aver. 9,171.61 9,496.28 3.5