Stocks Ticker Symbols Definitive Guide!

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How much thought you give to a stock ticker symbol? Stocks ticker symbols are one to five alphabetical codes we use to identify a particular stock being traded on an exchange. One glance on a stock ticker symbol can give you a lot of information like the name of the company, it's financial health, where it gets traded and even the nationality of the company.

In the past each stock exchange in US had its own stock ticker symbols. This would confuse investors and traders a lot. Standardized symbols were introduced by Standard & Poor as a way to clear that confusion when referring to stocks. Hey, this is the same Standard & Poor that maintains the S&P 500 Stock Index, considered to be the barometer of US economy.

Now, when we see MSFT on CNBC or for that matter Bloomberg TV, we immediately recognize Microsoft. Similarly when we come across GOOG, we immediately recognize the internet giant GOOGLE!

In 2007, things changes again with a new SEC ruling. Previously, the length of the stock ticker symbol would tell where it got traded. For example, NYSE or AMEX had a three letter stock ticker symbol system. NASDAQ had a four to five letter stock ticker symbol system.

In 2007, SEC rules that companies could keep their stock ticker symbols even if they changed the exchange where it got traded. Now, it is common to list the stock exchange alongside with the stock symbol, For example, when we talk about Microsoft stocks, it's symbol will be listed as NASDAQ:MSFT.

Most of the time stock ticker symbols are just three to four letter alphabetical codes. But sometimes, you will find a fifth alphabet added to the four alphabet code for a stock ticker symbol on NASDAQ.

This is an important clue for the investors that something is going on with that company that is not good and beyond the norm. For example, if you see the stock symbol for Microsoft listed as MSFTE, it means that the Microsoft Company is delinquent in filing with SEC meaning that the company's financial health is questionable. NYSE doesn't give detailed information about it's companies through their stock ticker symbols.

Instead of using an additional letter, NYSE uses behind the dot codes that follow the regular ticker symbol and a period. Penny stocks that trade over the Pink Sheets or Over The Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) also take the fifth letter code when applicable.