Barnes & Noble Posts Huge Losses, Will Stop Making Own Tablets

Will continue with own e-readers

Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) sank the most in 17 months after posting a loss that was twice as wide as analysts estimated and said it would stop making tablets as the digital unit's sales plummet.

The shares declined 20 percent to $15.03 at 1:23 p.m. in New York and earlier slid as much as 21 percent for the largest intraday drop since Jan. 5, 2012. The stock had added 25 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 10 percent gain for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.