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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Knowing How Penny Stocks, Pink Sheets and Micro Caps Differ Can Be A Profitable Journey

By James Brumley

Its extremely important that investors know how to distinguish between terms like pink sheet and penny stock, bulletin board and micro cap. The differences can mean making a winning or losing trade.

Though its likely you know the true definition of at least a couple of these terms, its worth spending a couple of minutes planting a simple " and unique " explanation in the back of your mind for each one. Doing so may mean the difference between making a profitable investment or not at some point in the future.

Whether you consider a penny stock as one that trades under $1 or one that trades under $5 really doesnt matter. Although the universe of stocks to choose from will definitely expand as the stock price rises.

If you want to short or buy a penny stock on margin, make sure you know whom youre doing business with. Some brokerages will not allow shorting of any stock under $5; others dont place a limit. So, choose wisely.

Often a stocks price sinks because a temporary situation has developed. It may even have met the same requirements as higher priced stocks at some point. A stock with this type of price movement could be a great investment opportunity when it trades as a penny stock"which can be a pink sheet or bulletin board stock (see below).

One of the riskiest types of stocks to invest in is a pink sheet stock, traded on an over-the-counter quotation system. Before you completely eliminate them from your investment world, its worth doing a little homework because this stigma isnt always deserved.

Some foreign stocks choose to list their equities in the U.S. market, but for technical or logistic reasons cant list their stock with one of the exchanges or the bulletin board system. That doesnt make the investment any less credible though. The size of the company (or market cap) is irrelevant.

On that note, however, the potential downside of pink sheet stocks appears there are essentially no reporting/disclosure requirements for companies with stocks listed as pink sheet equities. In other words, you may not be able to view any audited accounting statements for these stocks. Many pink sheet companies can and do disclose every single financial statement they produce, however. For that reason, these stocks should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

However, if a stock isnt listed on the NYSE or AMEX but rather the OTC market or as an OTCBB stock, it still means it has met SEC reporting/disclosure requirements and is considered to be of fully reporting status.

This may come as a surprise, but the bulletin board system is not the only over-the-counter game in town. Both pink sheet and NASDAQ markets are OTC markets.

Bulletin board companies dont consider share price when determining if a stock should be listed there, but market cap may be.

Dont just assume that all bulletin board stocks lack the stability of exchange-listed stocks. You might find some hidden gems that are stronger and more productive.

Micro Cap " The standard definition of a micro cap company is any company with a market cap (issued shares multiplied by share price) of $250 million or less, though the number isnt set in stone. Note that share price has nothing to do with the determination; there are plenty of micro cap stocks with share prices well over $5.00.

You may think that the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange are bigger and stronger than all the others, but thats not true. The minimum market cap stands at $25 million, so even a micro cap stock can make the NYSE.

A Quadruple Summary

Penny stock, pink sheet, bulletin board, and micro cap four terms that are tossed around quite a bit as if they all meant the same thing. Theyre all quite unique though. If an investor chooses to overlook a particular stock because its not an attractive investment, thats fine. However, overlooking a stock simply because of a semantic misunderstanding could be a regrettable decision. Knowledge is power.

Whether youre looking for top stock picks and trading ideas among the penny stock world, bulletin board equities, or micro caps, youll find them at www.smallcapnetwork.com. We explore the information that really matters to find you the best of the best stocks, and to offer highly meaningful market commentary. Sign up for the free e-newsletter today. - 23208

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