OTCQB

Categories: Trading

The "OTC" part of "OTCQB" stands for "over-the-counter." The OTC markets provide a home for stocks that aren't listed on the big-shot U.S. equity exchanges, like the NYSE and NASDAQ.

It's like the NIT tournament vs. the NCAA. Or minor league baseball vs. the major league. Or the XFL vs. the NFL. Or, like wearing a jumpsuit while driving around in a Honda vs. being an astronaut.

There are three levels to the OTC markets: the OTCQB, the OTCQX, and the pink sheets. The OTCQB is also known as the Venture Market. It's meant as a place for early stage and developing companies, both from the U.S. and overseas.

It's considered the middle rung of the three-step OTC system. It sits below the OTCQX, which includes some big-name foreign companies and other known entities. But the OTCQB exists above the party at an Italian prime minister's house that goes on over at the pink sheets.

To stay listed on the QTCQB, companies have to remain current in their financial reporting. There's also an annual verification process in order to stay listed. Meanwhile, companies have to satisfy a $0.01 bid test and can't be in bankruptcy. That may not seem like much, but you should see the kind of Mad Max stuff that happens on the pink sheets.

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Finance: What is Over The Counter (OTC)?3 Views

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finance a la shmoop what is over the counter or OTC alright buy drugs LVM

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non-prescription kind yeah those nyquil tylenol preparation-h well then you buy [Doctor filling out prescription]

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them over-the-counter prescription drugs yeah those are different much more

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highly inspected regulated structured and stocks work the same way when you

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trade over-the-counter you're generally trading within a network of other

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dealers all trading stocks think of it like everyone on Facebook had a trading [Facebook posts appear]

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account nothing really is supervised door regulated or controlled it's just

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the transaction happening among two strangers passing in the night [People walking around with smartphones]

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exchanging glances get a fair deal on this trade well on the exchanges Amazon

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was offered for fifteen hundred two dollars a share but on the OTC deck

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network while it was offered at 1507 maybe you'll have overpaid five bucks a [Amazon share prices appear]

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share for Amazon if you buy it here rather than on NASDAQ which is a normal

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securities exchange well stocks bonds commodities derivatives they all trade

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OTC and also on exchanges so why are there both methods of trading in the

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first place well demand if everybody was happy with the trades they made from

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9:30 to four New York time well then there wouldn't be a whole lot of demand [Stocks transferring from wall street]

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for trading outside of those hours and in other places but there is so there is

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an OTC trading accommodates after-hours trading as well which can be a really

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big deal when a company announces earnings at 4:30 p.m. New York time and [Newspaper of record earnings for company appears]

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the street either loves or hates the numbers that the companies printed the

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stock can move a lot in a short period so a lot of investors are happy to be

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able to either dump or scarf up positions in whatever calm at 4:32 p.m.

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after the numbers have been published not wanting to wait the dozen in change [Clock rapidly ticks forward]

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hours until the market opens again in the morning the basic idea behind OTC

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trading is that the world of OTC is kind of the wild wild west of stock exchanges

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unlike trading on the NYSE where companies have to meet very high

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standards to be accepted for trading on the exchange qualify for OTC trading

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while companies basically just have to spell their name properly fill out a few [Person signing a document]

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forms and feel that belonging thing and even then

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well you know there's a lot of flexibility

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