small-cap

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Related to small-cap: large cap, Large Cap Stocks

Small-cap

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

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.

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

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.

References in periodicals archive ?

With the Russell 2000 laboring almost 4% below its 200-day moving average and risk-off pall hanging over the market, TZA may be the best way to play small-cap stocks over the next several weeks, though data indicate the Direxion Dailly Small Cap Bull 3X Shares (NYSE:TNA) has recently taken in new money.

Maybe The Right Small-Cap ETF For The Moment

"Even in the earlier time period, the additional return to small-cap stocks was concentrated in companies with the highest level of default risk based on debt levels and business volatility," he said.

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The cement sector displayed a brilliant performance and remained positive despite the unexpected removal of Maple Leaf Cement from the MSCI Global Small-Cap Index.

KSE-100 index loses 158 points following MSCI review

As shown below, flows into passive small-cap equity strategies spiked in the aftermath of Trump's victory; for the three-month period surrounding the presidential election (November 2016 through January 2017), $25 billion (Dh91.8 billion) flowed into passive small-cap strategies-roughly six times the average three-month flow over the past 10 years.

Tax cuts for some!

Putnam's small-cap equity team now numbers eight analysts.

Putnam Boosts Its Small-Cap Equity Team

Boxwood Means Principal Randy Fuchs said small-cap industrial properties saw the highest growth as rents jumped 1.6 percent during the first quarter and 6.4 percent year-over-year.

Small-cap rents rise at fastest pace in years

The Emerald Small-Cap Value Fund (NASDAQ: LSRIX) is managed by Rick Giesen and Ori Elan, who have managed the assets since the Elessar Fund's inception in October, 2012.

Emerald Asset Management Unit Buys Small Cap Fund

Exposure to mid-cap and small-cap stocks: Tax-saving funds typically buy shares of big as well as small companies.

Cutting edge

"Small-cap companies have something of an advantage in this economy.

Valuations may hurt small caps

The anomaly of small-company stocks earning higher returns has been studied extensively by academics and investment practitioners, going back at least to 1980, when Rolf Banz, Ph.D., a professor at Northwestern University, scrutinized small-cap action on the New York Stock Exchange from 1926 to 1975.

Small-Cap Equity

There has been criticism of Banz's original work: the small-cap premium that Banz discovered was based on a handful of performance bursts, not consistent outperformance.