Small-Cap

Small-cap

A stock with a small capitalization, meaning a total equity value of less than $500 million.

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Small-Capitalization Stock

A stock in a publicly-traded company with low amount of market capitalization. In general, a small-cap company has a market capitalization of less than $1 billion or $2 billion, but there is no specific definition. Some brokerages or exchanges have slightly different definitions of small-cap. Some indexes track small-cap companies, as do some exchange traded funds. See also: High-cap, Mid-cap.

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small-cap

1. Of or relating to the common stock of a relatively small firm having little equity and few shares of common stock outstanding. Small-caps tend to be subject to large price fluctuations; therefore, the potential for short-term gains and losses is great.

2. Of or relating to mutual funds that invest in the stock of small-cap companies. See also microcap.

How can I determine whether a small-cap stock is reasonably valued?

A reasonably valued small-cap stock should be a company that has the potential to increase its earnings at a rate higher than the general growth of the economy. Because small-cap stocks generally have unusually high price-earnings ratios, the investor needs to look at each stock individually and compare its price-earnings ratios with the average price-earnings ratio of the appropriate small-cap stock index, such as the Russell 2000.

George Riles, First Vice President and Resident Manager, Merrill Lynch, Albany, GA