Led by big gains for three companies, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 12.2% in October. Educational Development Corp. had the biggest percentage increase in the month, with its stock-price jump of 29.9%. Its share price benefited from a quarterly report showing that, while sales had a small decline, profits jumped from the same quarter last year. Amazon’s share price rose 15% in the month. A strong quarterly report in which Amazon beat sales and earnings forecasts helped drive up its stock price, which added $143.93 in the month. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, whose stock price jumped 18.1% in September, gave those gains back in October, with its share prices dropping 17.8%. After peaking at $12.20 on October 2, HMH’s share price declined steadily. The 12.2% increase in the PWSI easily beat the gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up 4.3% in the month.
| Company | Sep. 29 | Aug. 31 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Dev. Corp. | 9.62 | 12.50 | 29.9% |
| Amazon | 961.35 | 1,105.28 | 15.0% |
| Pearson | 8.14 | 9.28 | 14.0% |
| CBS | 58.00 | 56.12 | 3.0% |
| John Wiley | 53.50 | 54.65 | 2.1% |
| News Corp | 13.65 | 13.90 | 1.8% |
| Scholastic | 37.20 | 36.94 | -0.7% |
| LSC | 16.51 | 16.18 | -2.0% |
| Barnes & Noble | 7.60 | 7.00 | -7.9% |
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 12.50 | 9.90 | -17.8% |
| Publishers Weekly Stock Index | 1,177.62 | 1,321.85 | 12.2% |
| Dow Jones Aver. | 22,405.09 | 23,377.24 | 4.3% |
