Tar heel stock watch.

• Position: Money Matters

TAR HEEL STOCK WATCH Expensive stocks Highest price-earnings ratios among North Carolina stocks P/E 10/25/02 52-week Company ratio * price range CT Communications 349.0 $13.97 $12.15-19.25 Culp 216.0 6.50 2.12-17.89 RF Micro Devices 85.6 7.71 5.15-28.56 Krispy Kreme Doughnuts 63.2 34.81 27.40-46.90 Pharmaceutical Product Dev. 48.2 28.95 16.06-35.31 Closure Medical 44.6 11.15 7.55-25.50 Cone Mills 43.8 2.63 1.51-4.45 Gateway Financial Holdings 40.0 8.00 7.00-10.50 Tanger Factory Outlet Centers 33.5 28.53 20.00-30.00 Blue Rhino 31.7 17.48 4.20-17.95 * Based on earnings per share in the last four quarters Cheap stocks Lowest price-earnings ratios among North Carolina stocks P/E 10/25/02 52-week Company ratio * price range R.J. Reynolds Tobacco 6.5 $42.47 $34.83-71.90 Investors Title 6.7 19.51 14.00-20.90 Sonic Automotive 7.1 16.30 13.31-39.75 Waste Industries USA 8.8 5.99 5.21-7.92 Air T 9.2 2.68 2.30-6.49 Summit Properties 9.5 18.07 16.15-25.90 Cato Corporation 9.8 17.80 14.17-27.75 Cooperative Bankshares 10.0 14.25 10.40-16.00 Quintiles Transnational 10.0 11.15 7.65-19.30 Standard Commercial 10.2 17.02 14.50-23.00 TAR HEEL STOCK WATCH Rankings based on three-month price change August-October Top 10 large-cap stocks 3-month 1-year 52-week Company change change range Inveresk Research Group 54.3% na * $8.67-20.80 Pharmaceutical Product Dev. 45.5 (1.0)% 16.06-35.31 Lowe's 23.2 26.2 32.40-49.99 RF Micro Devices 23.0 (65.7) 5.15-28.56 Quintiles Transnational 22.8 (32.2) 7.65-19.30 Trimeris 22.2 34.8 32.00-53.20 Cree 20.5 (31.1) 8.98-33.32 CommScope 18.9 (56.9) 6.12-23.65 Bank of America 13.3 13.8 53.95-77.09 Speedway Motorsports 10.9 10.9 20.85-30.18 Bottom 10 large-caps stocks 3-month 1-year 52-week Company change change range Laboratory Corp. of America (26.5)% (51.2)% $18.51-52.37 Sonic Automotive...