In the week since Barnes & Noble announced it has set up a "formal review process to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company" after receiving multiple expressions of interest in buying the company--including from chairman Len Riggio--B&N's stock has jumped 33% and is now trading near its 52-week high. Yesterday it closed up 1%, at $7.27, a day the Dow Jones dropped 3.1%.
The stock price has risen steadily each day during the past week, with trading volume sometimes double and triple usual levels, and moving up even on days that most averages were down, as happened yesterday. As a result of the stock price gain, B&N's market capitalization has moved up to about $530 million and the dividend yield has fallen to about 9%.
Speculation continues that either Riggio or an investment company such as Schottenfeld Management Corp., headed by Richard Schottenfeld, will take the company private.