Although stock prices rose at eight of the 13 companies listed on the Publishers Weekly Stock Index, the PWSI dropped 1.5% in October, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2%. The biggest drag on the PWSI was Amazon, whose stock price fell nearly $17 in the month, bringing it down 5.3%, as investors’ concerns about the e-tailer’s profitability continue to grow. Between the beginning of 2014 and the end of October, Amazon’s stock price dropped 23.4%. Educational Development Corp.’s stock price fell 6% following the release of a quarterly report that showed a loss, due mainly to one-time charges. Sales in the quarter were up 19%. Books-A-Million’s stock price sank again in October, closing the month at $1.42. Barnes & Noble’s stock price posted the biggest gain of all the stocks on the PWSI in the month, up 10.5%. Although its stock price has had a few dips this year, on Oct. 31, B&N’s share price was up 45.9% over the start of the year.

Winners
Company Sept. 30 Oct. 31 % Change
Barnes & Noble 19.74 21.82 10.5%
Courier Corp. 12.32 13.57 10.1
Scholastic 32.32 34.81 7.7
Chegg 6.24 6.65 6.6
R.R. Donnelley 16.46 17.45 6.0
Losers
Books-A-Million 1.70 1.42 -16.5%
News Corp 16.13 15.10 -6.4
Pearson 20.02 18.75 -6.3
Educational Dev. Corp. 4.65 4.37 -6.0
Amazon 322.44 305.46 -5.3
Publishers Weekly Stock Index 581.05 572.02 -1.5%
Dow Jones Aver. 17,042.90 17,390.52 2.0

Source: Publishers Weekly