Industry Stocks: August Performances
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 9/8/2003
The Publishers Weekly Stock Index had a solid August performance, posting a 3.3% increase in the month, which topped the 2.0% gain recorded by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The stock prices of 14 companies rose in August, while eight declined. Booksellers in particular had a good month with better-than-expected second quarter results driving up the stock prices of Barnes & Noble, Borders, Hastings and Books-A-Million. The top performer in August, however, was Leapfrog, whose stock price jumped 23.1% and closed just 10 cents off its 52-week high. The company released its new educational toy line in the month to generally positive reviews by analysts. The biggest loser in the month was Advanced Marketing Services, whose stock price fell 10% in August after falling 12% in July. Investors remain concerned about the government investigation of AMS's advertising policies.
| Company | July 31 | August 29 | % Change |
| Winners | |||
| Leapfrog | 30.30 | 37.50 | 23.1% |
| Amazon.com | 41.64 | 46.32 | 11.2 |
| Barnes & Noble | 23.93 | 26.20 | 9.5 |
| Borders Group | 17.80 | 19.34 | 8.6 |
| John Wiley & Sons | 26.33 | 27.95 | 6.1 |
| Losers | |||
| Advanced Marketing Svc. | 11.40 | 10.25 | -10.0% |
| Scholastic | 29.18 | 28.99 | -6.5 |
| Reader's Digest | 12.98 | 12.17 | -6.2 |
| Thomas Nelson | 12.97 | 12.25 | -5.5 |
| R.R. Donnelley | 26.46 | 25.14 | -5.0 |
| Publishers Weekly | |||
| Stock Index | 447.96 | 462.69 | 3.3% |
| Dow Jones Average | 9,232.80 | 9,415.82 | 2.0% |
| Source: Reed Business Information |
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