Did Barnes And Noble Cook Nook’s Books?

The retailer’s stock closed -12% today after it disclosed in an SEC filing that the agency is investigating two matters involving the company’s recent financial reports. On October 16 the SEC’s New York regional office told Barnes and Noble that it’s looking at a company earnings restatement in July. In addition, the SEC is curious about a charge by a “former non-executive employee” that some Information Technology expenses had been “improperly allocated” between the Nook and Retail segments. “The Company is cooperating with the SEC, including responding to requests for documents,” Barnes and Noble says in the filing. Did the chain lose $117M of its market value today just because of an investigation? Probably not. Many investors have also become pessimistic about the number of Nook tablets and e-readers that Barnes and Noble will sell this holiday season — especially after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos attracted so much attention on 60 Minutes last week when he disclosed his experiments with delivery drones. “If you’re looking for an excuse” to sell B&N shares, then the SEC investigation “is the perfect one,” says Maxim Group analyst John Tinker.