With two exceptions, the stock prices of all 21 companies included on the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose in November, driving up the cumulative gain by 7.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also had a solid month, rising 4.0%. Marvel's stock price had the sharpest increase in November, rising 19.7% as investors continued to be impressed with the movie potential of many of the company's characters. Amazon's share price rose 16.3%, driven by a strong start to the holiday shopping season and the likelihood that the e-tailer will fare well throughout the holiday period. LeapFrog's stock rebounded in November after tumbling in October due to a weak sales forecast. Barnes & Noble's stock price was adjusted downward during the month to reflect the value of the company following the spinoff of GameStop. The only two companies whose stock price fell in the month were Educational Development Corp., whose stock fell 2.2%, and Borders Group, whose stock price dropped by a penny.
COMPANY OCTOBER 29 NOVEMBER 30 % CHANGE
Winners
Marvel Enterprises 15.40 18.43 19.7%
Amazon.com 34.13 39.68 16.3
LeapFrog 12.20 14.00 14.7
Courier Corp. 43.50 49.76 14.4
Books-A-Million 8.11 9.22 13.7
Franklin Electronic Pub. 3.92 4.40 12.2
Thomas Nelson 22.14 24.70 11.6
Barnes & Noble 24.32 27.08 11.2
Publishers Weekly
Stock Index 497.73 536.05 7.7%
Dow Jones Average 10,027.47 10,428.02 4.0%


Source: Reed Business Information