Stock Market Listing Standards

Each exchange sets different criteria that must be satisfied for a stock to be listed there. The NYSE refers to their requirements as "Listing Standards." Nasdaq refers to the requirements as "Listing Qualifications." Listing requirements for these markets can be found at www.nyse.com and www.nasdaq.com. Find the listing requirements for firms with securities traded on each exchange. The NYSE also provides "continued listing standards." What are those requirements? Using the security search engine on either the NYSE or Nasdaq, search for stocks that do not meet the continued listing standards of the NYSE. Which variable would lead to the stock being de-listed from the NYSE? What do you think is the likelihood that this stock will continue to be listed on the NYSE?

Short Sales

Go to the web site for Nasdaq at www.nasdaq.com. When you enter the site, a box appears that allows you to get quotes for up to 10 stocks. Request quotes for three firms in which you have an interest. If you don't know the stocks' symbols, click on the Symbol Lookup icon. Once you have entered the ticker for each company, click on the Info Quotes icon below the symbols you entered. Answer the following questions: on which market or exchange does each of the stocks trade, and what were the high and low prices for the stocks today? Note the number of shares outstanding for each company.

Click on the Short Interest selection (under Company Financials) in the drop-down box. Describe the trend, if you can perceive one, for short sales over the last year. What does the term "Days to Cover" mean? Which of the companies has had the greatest number of shares sold short recently, relative to the number of shares outstanding? Does this ratio imply anything about the market consensus expectation of the stocks' price movements in the near future?

Next, click on the Insider Form 4 in the drop-down box and look at the pattern of stock sales and options exercised by the companies' insiders. Do you see any relationship between the trend in short sales and the insiders' activities? Also check Insider Form 144 to see how many shares are owned by each of the companies' insiders.