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OTC Markets' Warning Symbols Explained

The OTC Markets, which are divided into three tiers: the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market, and the Pink Market, trade over 10,000 securities. The Pink Market trades a wide range of firms, including overseas corporations with limited disclosure in the United States, penny stocks and shell companies, as well as troubled, delinquent, and dark companies who are unwilling or unable to offer information to investors. The amount of publicly available data varies from firm to company. OTC Markets has designed investor protection symbols to warn against firms that may entail greater risk than others, in order to assist investors to better understand the risks connected with these securities and to give more transparency. On otcmarkets.com, numerous of these symbols may show on a corporate quote page. Here's a breakdown of what each one represents.   BANKRUPTCY   This indicator denotes that the firm has filed for bankruptcy or has indicated its intention to do so. This w...

Ratios For Stock Picking

  1. Price to Earnings ratio The price to earnings ratio is one of the most widely used financial ratio analysis among the investors for a very long time. Price to Earning ratio= Price Per Share/Earnings Per Share  As a thumb rule, a low P/E ratio is preferred while buying a stock. 2. Price to Book value Price to book ratio (P/B) is calculated by dividing the current price of the stock by the latest quarter's book value per share. Price to Book ratio=Price per share/Book value per share A lower P/BV ratio could mean that the stock is undervalued, but again the definition of lower varies from sector to sector. 3. Debt to Equity ratio The debt-to-equity ratio measures the relationship between the amount of capital that has been borrowed (i.e. debt) and the amount of capital contributed by shareholders (i.e. equity). Debt to Equity ratio=Total Liabilities/Total Shareholder Equity As a thumb of rule, companies with a debt-to-equity ratio more than  1 are risky. 4. Return on E...

6 Types of Stocks

1. Blue Chip Stocks Stocks of a large and well established company that is consistently profitable. 2. Income Stocks Stocks that pay consistent and growing dividends in good and bad times. 3. Growth Stocks Stocks that are anticipated to grow at a rate above the average of the market cyclical. 4. Defensive Stocks  Stocks that pay a constant dividend regardless of the market conditions. 5. Cyclical Stocks Stocks affected by changes in the overall economy. 6. Penny Stocks Stocks with prices under $5 and are know to be volatile.

Ratios for Stocks

P/E Ratio Price to earnings ratio is the share price to earnings per share. P/S Ratio  Price to sales ratio is the share price to revenue per share. P/FCF Ratio Current share price divided by the free cash flow per share. PEG Ratio  Similar to the P/E ratio but adjusted for expected growth. P/B Ratio  Company market value divided by net assets (book value). EV/EBITDA Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, tax, dep & amort. MinaMarGroup.com

What is the role of transfer agent?

Transfer agent, usually trust company, bank or another financial institutions assigned by a corporation has several duties including maintaining issuer's security holder record, canceling/issuing certificates and distributing dividends among others. Because transfer agent stands between company that issues securities and security holders, transfer agent is crucial for successful completion of secondary sales. Pursuant to 1934 Act, transfer agent must be registered with the SEC or bank regulatory agency if transfer agent is a bank. The SEC also conducts inspections of transfer agent. Companies themselves can act as their own transfer agent. Transfer agent keeps record of who owns company's  stocks and bonds and how many each shareholder or bondholder owns. Also transfer agent issues and cancels certificates to reflect changes in ownership. In case of stock split or stock dividend transfer agent will issue new shares to shareholders. Just like stock transfer agent makes s...

What are the benefits of being Foreign Private Issuer?

Many foreign companies wish to have access to capital market an become publicly traded company in the United States. The reason is that being part of the largest and most liquid capital market bring many benefits including prestige, visibility, ability to attract and retain top talents, etc. To become a part of capital market in the United States and experience all the benefits that it carries, foreign company may undergo reorganization of corporate governance and operations. Foreign issuer in federal securities law is defined as foreign government, foreign national or corporation incorporated by any foreign country. Any foreign issuer (except foreign government) can be considered foreign private issuer except if more than 50% of the issuers outstanding voting securities are held by residents of United States and if any of the following applies: majority of issuer’s executives and directors are residents of United States, more than 50% of issuer’s assets is located in the United S...

What is the purpose of DTC?

Deposit Trust Company (DTC) is the largest securities depository in the world, created by securities industry to imporove efficiences and reduce risk in the clearence and settlement of securities transactions. It was founded in 1973 and based in New York, DTC is organized as limited purpose trust company meaning it is charted by state to perform specific trust functions, acting as a depositor or safekeeper for securities and mortgages. Basically DTC holds securities for banks and investment firms. DTC alos acts as clearing agency, registered with SEC for securities transactions in the U.S. market, invloving equities, corporate and municipal debt, money market instruments, American depositary receipts and exchange traded funds. All movements of securities are made electronically with book-enry adjustments. Most large U.S broker-dealers and banks are DTC participants, menaing they deposit and hold securities at DTC. Individual investors cannot be participants.  DTC appears i...