Stock symbols, consisting of one to five letters, serve as a universal identifier for publicly traded stocks and mutual funds. They are used to write buy and sell orders and obtain information about the company and its shares. The symbols vary depending on the exchange and can communicate information about the company, such as its bankruptcy status. Many world symbols are alphanumeric to facilitate international stock trading.
Every publicly traded stock and mutual fund has a symbol by which it is known, consisting of between one and five letters. This is your stock symbol or ticker symbol. It serves as a universal identifier, as well as a convenient shorthand for observing price movements and transactions. A stock market symbol can be thought of as the equivalent of an element symbol on the periodic table. In the United States, stock market symbols consist of only letters, with an occasional period before the last letter, as in the symbol BRK.B, which indicates a class B share of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
The stock market symbol will vary slightly depending on the exchange on which the shares are traded. For example, most stocks traded on the NASDAQ exchange have four or five letters, while most shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) have three letters. NYSE ticker symbols can also be two letters, or just one.
One letter stock market symbols are sought after to some extent by publicly traded companies as they provide a unique facility of recognition. AT&T is one of the oldest companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and is well known by its symbol, the letter T. When SBC bought AT&T, the latter took the AT&T name and also insisted on holding the stock of a letter symbol of the market, because it was very well recognized.
In practical terms, a company’s stock market symbol is used primarily to write buy and sell orders, as well as to obtain information about the company and its shares. Often, a great deal of information is communicated by a letter “behind the dot” in the symbols of stocks traded on both the NYSE and NASDAQ. For example, a symbol ending in “.E” means that the company has had problems with its regular filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A “.Q” suffix denotes a company currently in bankruptcy, and an “.X” ending indicates a mutual fund.
Stock market symbols in the US are only made up of letters, but many world symbols are alphanumeric. The purpose of this is to facilitate international stock trading. For example, a company listed in a Middle Eastern or East Asian country may want to have a symbol that Western traders can understand. Westerners will understand a symbol consisting of numbers much more easily than characters or non-Latin script.
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