The Publishers Weekly Stock Index fell 7.2% in April as share prices dropped for 11 of the 14 companies on the PWSI. The stock price of Chegg, after rising 11.1% in March, pulled back last month with its price dropping 24.7%, the biggest decline among PWSI stocks. Barnes & Noble’s stock price tumbled 21.5%, largely due to negative investor reaction to the decision by B&N chairman Len Riggio to sell a chunk of his B&N shares. For the second consecutive month the share price of Amazon took a big hit, this time after the e-tailer released a first-quarter report that showed another operating loss for the company despite a jump in revenue. At one point following the release of its quarterly results, the stock price had fallen below $300 before finishing April at $304.13. Between the beginning of 2014 and the end of April, Amazon’s stock price fell almost 24%.

Winners
Company Mar. 31 Apr. 30 % Change
Pearson 17.81 18.77 5.4%
Educational Dev. Corp. 3.62 3.80 4.7
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 20.33 20.43 0.5
Losers
Chegg 7.00 5.27 -24.7
Barnes & Noble 20.90 16.40 -21.5
Amazon 336.37 304.13 -9.5
CBS 61.80 57.76 -6.5
Courier Corp. 15.40 14.53 -5.6
Scholastic 34.48 32.91 -4.5
Publishers Weekly Stock Index 615.33 570.90 -7.2
Dow Jones Aver. 16,457.66 16,580.84 0.7