Penny stocks are common shares of small public companies that trade for less than one dollar per share.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uses the term “Penny stock” to refer to a security, a financial instrument which represents a given financial value, issued by small public companies that trade at less than $5 per share. Penny stocks are priced over-the-counter, rather than on the trading floor. The term “penny stock” refers to shares that, prior to the SEC’s reclassification, traded for “pennies on the dollar”.
In 1934, when the United States government passed the Securities Exchange Act to regulate any and all transactions of securities between parties which are “not the original issuer”, the SEC at the time disclosed that equity securities which trade for less than $5 per share could not be listed on any national stock exchange or index.
Over-the-counter exchanges that list penny stocks include, the OTC Bulletin Board (which is a facility of FINRA) or OTC Link LLC (which is owned by OTC Markets Group, Inc., formerly known as Pink OTC Markets Inc.). Penny stocks can also trade on securities exchanges, including foreign securities exchanges. Penny stocks can include the securities of certain private companies with no active trading market.
When considering penny stocks, investors and experts in the field recognize the low market price of shares and its correlation to low market capitalization. Market capitalization or “market cap” is the total dollar market value of all of a company’s outstanding securities.
The volatile nature of penny stocks also leaves these companies open to potential “manipulation” by stock promoters and pump and dump schemes. Oftentimes, investors are led to believe that the ability to purchase large quantities of shares at low prices will result in greater returns, which makes them more susceptible.Penny stocks are high-risk securities with small market capitalizations that trade for a low price outside major market exchanges. A lack of history and information, as well as low liquidity, make penny stocks riskier. Look out for scams involving penny stocks that want to separate you from your money.
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