Most companies traded on the Nasdaq have four-lettered ticker symbols, which are representative of the actual company. For example, the ticker symbol for Nasdaq-traded Microsoft is MSFT.
However, in some cases, a ticker symbol on the Nasdaq will have three letters or up to five letters. The fifth letter is an identifier symbol that tells market participants something about the company.
Key Takeaways
- Most stock symbols on the Nasdaq are unique four-letter identifiers, also known as tickers.
- Sometimes, an additional fifth letter is included after the four-letter ticker to signify something about the stock or company.
- This fifth letter will typically follow a period (".").
- For example, a fifth letter "Q" indicates bankruptcy proceedings, while a "K" specified non-voting shares.
- Here we list every one of the Nasdaq fifth-letter identifiers.
Stock Symbols
A stock symbol, or ticker, is a unique series of letters assigned to a security for trading purposes.New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed stocks have three characters or less. MostNasdaq-listed securities have four or five characters.
Stock symbols are also used to convey information about the trading status of a company. This information is usually represented by one additional letter following a dot after the stock’s standard company symbol.
Fifth Letter Identifiers
On the Nasdaq, a fifth letter is added to stocks that are delinquent in certain exchange requirements: for example, in ACER.W, the first four letters comprises the stock symbol for Acer Therapeutics Inc. (ACER), and the last letter ‘.W’ indicates that the shares havewarrantsattached.
Similarly, a company that is in bankruptcy proceedingswill have a Q after its symbol, and a non-U.S. company trading in the U.S. financial markets will have the letter Y following its ticker symbol.
The meaning of the letters from A to Z are shown here:
A - Class A Shares
B- Class B Shares
C -NextShares Exchange Traded Managed Funds (ETFM)
D - New Issue- This is temporarilyusedto denote a corporate reorganization.
E - N/A -The letter used to stand for delinquent in regard to SEC filings. Nasdaq now uses the Financial Status Indicator to denotedelinquent regulatory filings, but notes other markets may still use"E" for this purpose.
F - Foreign Issue (if the issuer requests it)
G - First Convertible Bond
H - Second Convertible Bond
I - Third Convertible Bond
J - Voting-This is temporarilyused to denote a shareholder vote situation.
K - Non-voting
L - Miscellaneous Situations, such as certificates of participation, preferred participation,and stubs(research is required to investigate the exact reason for the identifier being attached)
M- Fourth Preferred Issue
N- Third Preferred Issue
O - Second Preferred Issue
P - First Preferred Issue
Q - N/A -The letter used to stand forbankruptcy. Nasdaq now uses the Financial Status Indicator to denote when a company has filed for bankruptcy, but notes other markets may still use"Q" for this purpose.
R - Rights Issue
S - Shares of Beneficial Interest
T - Securities With Warrants or Rights
U - Units
V - When issued or when distributed (shares that are set to split or have other similar pending corporate actions)
W - Warrants
X - Mutual Fund Quotation Service (MFQS) Instrument
Y - American Depository Receipt(if the issuer requests it)
Z -Miscellaneous Situations,such as certificates of preferred when issued(research is required to investigate the exact reason for the identifier being attached)
What Are Fifth-Letter Identifiers in a Stock Symbol?
The Nasdaq makes use of a fifth letter that comes after the main stock ticker symbol in order to denote certain features, special characteristics, or limitations of that particular issue of securities. This letter will appear after a period, in the form XXXX.X.
What Does .PK or .OB After a Stock Symbol Mean?
The stock symbol suffices .PK and .OB refer to shares that trade over-the-counter (OTC). This means that it does not trade on a major stock exchange and may be a riskier investment due to fewer or less stringent listing criteria or other regulations.
What Does .TO After a Stock Symbol Mean?
The stock symbol suffix .TO denotes that the stock trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada. Many times, a company will list their shares in both their home country but also on global stock exchanges. This means that the same company may have global shares (knows as depositary receipts) in various locations and denominated in different currencies. Other foreign exchange suffixes include (among several others): Australia (.AX); Brazil (.SA); Germany (.DE); Hong Kong (.DK); and the United Kingdom (.L).
What Is the Main Difference Between Class A and Class B Shares?
Class A shares (denoted by .A) usually grant shareholders more voting rights than Class B shares (.B).
FAQs
NASDAQ Symbols
Sometimes, the fifth letter identifies the type of stock, or the type of security: A or B: represent A and B class shares for NASDAQ stocks. V or Y: represent American Depository Receipt (ADR) shares. F: represents a foreign stock trading on NASDAQ.
What are the fifth letter codes Nasdaq? ›
NASDAQ Symbols
Sometimes, the fifth letter identifies the type of stock, or the type of security: A or B: represent A and B class shares for NASDAQ stocks. V or Y: represent American Depository Receipt (ADR) shares. F: represents a foreign stock trading on NASDAQ.
What is the 1 to 5 letter symbol used to identify companies being traded? ›
Ticker symbols are used to identify specific publicly traded companies and the securities they issue. They are typically made up of one to five letters and are used to identify a specific stock or bond on a stock exchange or financial platform.
What is the Q in the Nasdaq? ›
Q is a former Nasdaq designation that noted a company had filed for bankruptcy. The Q would show up as the final letter in a stock symbol. The Nasdaq phased out the usage of Q as of 2016.
Are all Nasdaq tickers four letters? ›
Markets like the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and other regional exchanges have traditionally used three-character ticker symbols, while Nasdaq-listed securities have four- and five-character symbols.
What does the 5th letter of a stock symbol mean? ›
Key Takeaways
Sometimes, an additional fifth letter is included after the four-letter ticker to signify something about the stock or company. This fifth letter will typically follow a period ("."). For example, a fifth letter "Q" indicates bankruptcy proceedings, while a "K" specified non-voting shares.
What is Nasdaq on mt5 symbol? ›
First things first, you need the secret handshake, the decoder ring of the trading world – the symbol. For the Nasdaq, you're looking for NQ 1!. Write this down on a napkin (because everyone knows real traders use napkins for notes), or yell it dramatically into the void (whichever is more your style).
What does W mean after a stock symbol? ›
W. Fifth letter of a Nasdaq stock symbol indicating that this particular stock is a warrant.
What is the unique code symbol which identifies the stock? ›
A ticker of a stock is its ticker symbol, which is a unique grouping of letters that identifies a specific company. For example, Apple has a ticker symbol of "AAPL," Exxon has a ticker symbol of "XOM," and Coca-Cola has a ticker symbol of "KO."
What is the key difference between a floor broker on Amex and a dealer on Nasdaq? ›
What is the key difference between a floor broker on AMEX and a dealer on NASDAQ? A dealer buys and sells only from his own inventory while a floor broker executes trades both for himself and others.
QZ Global LTD - Class A (NASDAQ:QZAM) institutional ownership structure shows current positions in the company by institutions and funds, as well as latest changes in position size. Major shareholders can include individual investors, mutual funds, hedge funds, or institutions.
What is the difference between QQQ and NDAQ? ›
Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) has a higher volatility of 9.46% compared to Invesco QQQ (QQQ) at 7.87%. This indicates that NDAQ's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than QQQ based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.
What is the abbreviations for NASDAQ? ›
Nasdaq, which is an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System, was established in 1971. The US-based exchange is also the first-ever electronic stock market in the world.
What does f mean after a stock symbol? ›
Some Nasdaq stocks have five letters, which usually means the stock is foreign. This is designated by an "F" or "Y" at the end of the stock symbol. On many tickers, colors are also used to indicate how the stock is trading.
What are Nasdaq codes? ›
For common stock issuances, Nasdaq assigns symbols between one and four characters in length. For subordinate issue classes, Nasdaq assigns five character symbols. Within the symbols, the fifth and last character relays basic information about the issue class or issue type as outlined in the table below.
How do I know if my stock is NYSE or Nasdaq? ›
A good rule of thumb is that if the ticker is one to three characters long, it s probably listed on the NYSE. If it is four or five characters, it is probably a NASDAQ stock.
What is the abbreviations for Nasdaq? ›
Nasdaq, which is an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System, was established in 1971. The US-based exchange is also the first-ever electronic stock market in the world.
What is Nasdaq index code? ›
The Nasdaq Composite (ticker symbol ^IXIC) is a stock market index that includes almost all stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500, it is one of the three most-followed stock market indices in the United States.
What is the symbol for Nasdaq on TD Ameritrade? ›
Symbol Guide for TD AMERITRADE Data
| Name | Symbol |
|---|
| Nasdaq 100 Index | $NDX.X |
| AMEX Composition Index | $XAX.X |
| OEX Volatility Index | $VXO.X |
| CBOE Gold Index | $GOX.X |
7 more rowsticker symbol
Letters used to uniquely identify a stock or mutual fund. Symbols with up to three letters are used for stocks which are listed and trade on an exchange. Symbols with four or five letters are used for NASDAQ stocks. Symbols with five letters ending in X are used for mutual funds.
