Pershing Square Capital Management recently dropped all its Barnes & Noble stock. In September, the hedge fund reported a 11.8 percent stake in that Barnes & Noble.

Bloomberg has the story, noting that the fund's manager William Ackman (Borders' largest shareholder) had struggled with his bookstore holdings: "The falling value of Barnes & Noble and rival bookseller Borders Group Inc. contributed to a 12 percent decline in Ackman's largest hedge fund last year."

Recently Barnes & Noble announced that holiday sales had dropped 5.2 percent and Borders announced that sales had dropped 11.7 percent. Some think the stock moves could indicate more about the future of Borders. Publishers Weekly said the move "will likely fuel speculation that Ackerman is thinking of taking Borders private."