What happened Shares of educational publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ: HMHC) rose a quick 14% at the open of trading on Tuesday. The move here, however, was likely tied to company-specific news that came out last week, though nobody is claiming any credit for it. So what Citing "people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg reported that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is exploring corporate options, notably including selling itself to another company. Although nobody is talking about this publicly, the rumor is that private-equity companies are showing some interest here. That makes sense given previous moves in the space among this group. Usually, when a company is bought out, there's a premium paid for the shares. Image source: Getty Images. That said, investors should probably tread with caution with regard to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Not only did the stock rise today, but it also started heading higher last week on the news. Today just looks like a carryover from that earlier advance. But, more importantly, at this point the stock is up more than 340% over the past year. How much more a buyer will want to pay after such an impressive run-up is something you might want to mull over before jumping in at current prices. Now what Wall Street likes a rumor, but the age-old saying is buy the rumor and sell the news. And given Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's already massive price increase, investors might not get the pop they are hoping for here if a deal is ever agreed to. At this point, this one is probably best left to the special-situation investors. 10 stocks we like better than Houghton Mifflin HarcourtWhen our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 10, 2022 Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source