Ticker symbol

Ticker symbol

An abbreviation assigned to a security for trading purposes.

Copyright © 2012, Campbell R. Harvey. All Rights Reserved.

Ticker Symbol

A series of letters, often an abbreviation, that represents a stock, option, mutual fund, or other security that trades on an exchange. A ticker symbol allows securities to be listed on an exchange's overhead board conveniently and provides a useful reference for traders and investors. NASDAQ ticker symbols have four letters, while those on the NYSE have no more than three. Mutual fund ticker symbols sometimes include numbers. Examples of ticker symbols include F, for Ford, and MSFT, for Microsoft.

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ticker symbol

The abbreviation by which a security appears on stock quotation machines. For example, T represents AT&T, GY represents GenCorp, C represents Citicorp, and CVG represents Convergys. Booklets containing the symbols are available at most brokerage offices, and symbols can also be found on many Internet sites.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott. Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. All rights reserved.

Ticker symbol.

A ticker symbol, also known as a stock symbol, is a unique string of letters that identifies a particular stock on one of two electronic tapes that report market transactions.

The consolidated tape includes companies that trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), regional exchanges and other markets. A second tape includes companies that trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Most corporations have a say in what their symbol will be, and many choose one that's clearly linked to their name, such as IBM or AMZN for Amazon.com.

Various letters may be added to a ticker symbol to indicate where the trade took place or that there was something atypical about the transaction. For example, IBM.Pr would indicate that the trade involved preferred stock.

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