- A company's stock symbol is the key to viewing the value of each equity share and other financial information related to that corporation. Depending on which stock exchange that a company chooses to list its shares, the length of the symbol will vary but is usually between one and several letters long. On financial and regulatory websites, users can view the financial information of a company by entering the trading symbol into a search bar.
- When a company enters into bankruptcy protection, the symbol changes to alert investors of the failure. U.S. automaker General Motors experienced a series of company name and symbol changes following a bankruptcy filing in 2009. Regulators eventually changed the stock symbol to MTLQQ, according to Bloomberg, warning that investing in this stock in hopes of seeing recovery was a risky bet. General Motors emerged from bankruptcy and in November 2010 reissued shares in the stock market under symbol GM.
- Depending on the sector or category of stocks, there are frequent mergers and acquisitions on the financial markets. When one company acquires another, both begin trading under the same stock symbol and usually it is that of the acquiring corporation. The symbol change does not occur immediately. On the day the deal is announced, the target company tends to see its stock value rise in response to the prospects of being acquired. Once shareholders approve the deal the new symbol takes effect.
- When a company undergoes a name change, it might opt to begin trading under a different stock symbol. This is part of marketing and re-branding the business in a new way and does not necessarily have negative connotations. Also, different stock exchanges have different parameters for stock symbols. Companies sometimes change their listing from one exchange to another and in doing so must begin trading under a different symbol to comply with the rules of the exchange.
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