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What does fifth letter in ticker means?


A ticker or stock symbol is an abbreviation or an acronym that uniquely identifies securities of particular company on particular stock market. It consists of letters, numbers or both in a combination that is unique for every company. The term ticker itself came from the sound made by ticker tape machine that transmitted stock price information over telegraphic lines. They were supposed to be short to minimize the number of character printed on the ticker tape and to make them easy to recognize for traders and investors. Company's ticker may change due to various reasons, reflecting a merger, name change of a company or if the company trades on multiple exchanges worldwide. US modern letter only ticker symbol was developed by Standard&Poor to bring national standard to investing,

Companies trading on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) usually have three letter ticker symbol while Nasdaq ones usually have four letter stock symbol. In July 2007 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed companies who moved from NYSE to Nasdaq to retain three letter symbol. But sometime you can find tickers on Nasdaq and OTC that have five letters. Fifth letters is added to indicate change in stock structure or a company. Understanding this additional letters can make a big change in your investment decisions, whether to hold a position or invest in particular stock.

First two letters of alphabet are related to different classes of shares. Letter A on the end of the ticker signifies class A shares that usually represent ownership in the company with granted voting rights. This also means that B class shares exist and they are typically preferred shares with no voting rights and possible dividend payments and conversion to common stock. Berkshire Hathaway have two ticker symbols BRK.A for class A shares and BRK.B for B classes of shares, both trading on NYSE.

C is a warning sign, meaning that company is not meeting listing requirements but remains on the exchange for the time being (issuer qualification exemption). Likewise letter E is problematic denoting delinquency on one or more SEC filings. Normally it is not good sign but it can also happen to companies in situation of reorganizing additional revenues or positive tax income. Whatever is the case you should do your own research.

D is a temporary letter that indicates corporate reorganization.
F means that it is a foreign issue and it is added on the issuer's request.
G, H and I represent first, second and third convertible bond respectively.
J is a temporary letter that appears as a part of the ticker in a shareholder voting situation.
P, O, N and M stand for first, second, third and fourth preferred issue.

If company has filed for bankruptcy, additional Q will be added on the ticker. The Nasdaq now issues financial status indicator but you can still see Q on other exchanges.

R represents rights issue that allows investor to purchase new shares at predetermined price, while T is for securities with warrants or rights.
When issued and when distributed, V is added when shares are about to split or another similar corporate action is about to happen.
W indicate warrant instrument giving shareholders right to buy or sell securities at certain price before expiration date.
L and Z are added for miscellaneous situations such certificates of participation or preferred when issue. These letters on a fifth position require due diligence.

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