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