Why Retailers Like Michaels, American Eagle Outfitters, Burlington, and Office Depot Saw Big Stock Gains in May

Shares of arts and crafts retailer The Michaels Companies (NASDAQ: MIK) shot up 27% in May, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Teen clothing store American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) advanced 15%, while off-price retailer Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL) gained 15% and office supply seller Office Depot (NASDAQ: ODP) came in with a price advance of 11%.

The S&P 500 index was only up around 4.5%, so each of these stocks handily outperformed the average here.

However, when you step back and look at the first five months of 2020, there's a bit of a difference. For example, the S&P 500 was off by about 5% over that span. Office Depot and Burlington were both down just under 10%, and American Eagle and Michaels were lower by 37% and 52%, respectively. There's some worthwhile information hidden in these two sets of numbers.

Source Fool.com