The Publishers Weekly Stock Index was unable to overcome a bad month for the stock market in general in May. The PWSI fell 6.9% last month, a slightly worse decline than the 6.2% posted by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Only four stocks on the PWSI had an increase in their share price in May, while 10 had declines, including Books-A-Million whose stock price slipped by one cent, to $3.18 per share. Barnes & Noble’s stock price continued the roller-coaster ride it has been on for most of 2012. After jumping 56% in April following word of Microsoft’s investment in its Nook business, the stock had the biggest decline of companies on the PWSI in May, falling 20.8%. Among the winners in May was Hastings Entertainment, whose stock price received a boost after a better than expected first- quarter report.
Winners
| Company | April 30 | May 31 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courier Corp. | 10.27 | 10.93 | 6.4% |
| Disney Corp. | 43.11 | 45.71 | 6.0 |
| Hastings Ent. | 1.97 | 2.07 | 5.0 |
| John Wiley | 45.19 | 45.50 | 0.7 |
Losers
| Company | April 30 | May 31 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnes & Noble | 20.75 | 16.43 | -20.8% |
| RR Donnelley | 12.51 | 10.76 | -14.0 |
| McGraw-Hill Cos. | 49.17 | 43.38 | -11.8 |
| Scholastic | 30.55 | 26.95 | -11.8 |
| Reed Elsevier | 33.05 | 29.58 | -10.5 |
| Amazon | 231.90 | 212.91 | -8.2 |
| Publishers Weekly | |||
| Stock Index | 538.59 | 501.50 | -6.9% |
| Dow Jones Aver. | 13,213.63 | 12,393.45 | -6.2 |
