With the stock prices of five companies falling in April and another five rising, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 3.3% in the month. Two publishers whose stock prices struggled in the first quarter of 2017 saw their fortunes improve in April. Educational Development Corp.’s stock price jumped 22.2% in the month as the company continued to post revenue gains, even as it worked to overcome a failed software installation that led to long shipping delays. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s stock price ended a long slide in April and was up 13.3% in the month. The publisher announced late in April that it expects to save $70 million–$80 million annually once its restructuring effort is completed. Barnes & Noble’s stock price had the worst April performance, falling 7.6%. In the first four months of 2017, the retailer’s stock price dropped 23.3%.
| Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Mar. 31 | Apr. 28 | Change |
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 6.75 | 8.25 | 22.2% |
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 10.15 | 11.50 | 13.3% |
| Amazon | 886.34 | 924.99 | 4.3% |
| LSC | 25.16 | 25.87 | 2.8% |
| Scholastic | 42.57 | 43.23 | 1.5% |
| Losers | |||
| John Wiley | 53.80 | 52.70 | -2.0% |
| Pearson | 8.48 | 8.20 | -3.3% |
| News Corp | 13.50 | 13.00 | -3.7% |
| CBS | 69.36 | 66.56 | -4.0% |
| Barnes & Noble | 9.25 | 8.55 | -7.6% |
| Publishers Weekly Stock Index | 1,125.36 | 1,162.85 | 3.3% |
| Dow Jones Aver. | 20,663.22 | 20,940.51 | 1.3% |
Source: Publishers Weekly
