Industry's Stocks Sag on Opening Day
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 9/24/2001
Publishing industry stocks were unable to escape the decline in stock prices when the major markets opened for trading last Monday after being closed for four days. The 20 companies on the Publishers Weekly Stock Index posted a composite loss of 3.5%, compared to a 7.1% drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 6.8% decline for the Nasdaq. Prices went up at only five companies, while 14 had a decline; Millbrook Press's stock price held even at $3.50. Amazon.com's stock price fell 13.2% to $7.49, while its earthbound competitors, Barnes & Noble and Borders, saw their stock prices fall 6.1% and 9.3%, respectively. The terrorist attack helped push the stock prices of Reader's Digest and Pearson to 52-week lows, with RD's stock closing at $17 on September 17 and Pearson's at $11.65. The top gainer for the day was Thomas Nelson, as investors pushed its price up 6.4% on word that religious and spiritual books were selling well. Courier Corp.'s stock price rose 2% as its Dover Publications division had an unexpected bestseller with Nostradamus and His Prophecies.
