Industry Stocks: August Performances
| Company | July 31 | August 31 | % CHANGE |
| Two companies whose stock prices have languished below the $5 level had a stellar August. The best performer in the month was Hastings Entertainment whose stock soared 105.3% to $5.75 as the company reported a profitable second quarter and seemed to have put its recent problems behind it. August was the second straight month that Educational Development Corp. had a better than 20% gain with its stock price up 24.7% to $5.30. Investors continue to be wary about Amazon.com's fourth quarter prospects and dropped its stock price 28.4% in August. Reader's Digest ugly fourth quarter results led to a 16.5% decline in its August stock price. In all, 10 companies' stock price fell in August, while 10 rose; Barnes & Noble.com's price remained at $1.23. Franklin's stock finished August at a 52-week low of $1.80. Also in August, Houghton Mifflin was removed from the PWSI following the completion of its acquisition by Vivendi. Source: Cahners Publishing | |||
| Winners | |||
| Hastings Entertainment | 2.80 | 5.75 | 105.3% |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 4.25 | 5.30 | 24.7 |
| Banta Corp. | 27.81 | 29.99 | 7.8 |
| Scholastic | 37.16 | 38.93 | 4.8 |
| Thomas Nelson | 6.93 | 7.22 | 4.2 |
| Losers | |||
| Amazon.com | 12.49 | 8.94 | -28.4 |
| Reader's Digest | 22.41 | 18.70 | -16.5 |
| Hungry Minds | 6.75 | 6.06 | -10.2 |
| Courier Corp. | 39.75 | 36.25 | -8.8 |
| Advanced Marketing Svs. | 17.35 | 16.20 | -6.6 |
| Publishers Weekly | |||
| Stock Index | 376.75 | 371.18 | -1.5% |
| Dow Jones Average | 10,522.81 | 9,949.75 | -5.4% |
