Penny stocks have been around since the 19th century, and they’ve also been a big part of the American investment system ever since they developed. This era is actually the one that gave these stocks their names, as modern penny stocks cost far more than a penny. They average between ten cents and five dollars apiece in modern money. Why don’t we take a look at some of the risks you’ll encounter when dealing in penny stocks, then ways they can help you turn a profit.
Penny stocks are share offerings to investors made by companies either too new or too small to be listed in major stock exchange listings. There’s a big potential for growth for relatively small investments initially, but pump and dump schemes are a real risk in this area. Just like anything else that has to do with the OTC (over-the-counter) market, buyers should remember to beware.
Choosing penny stocks reasonably means that you need to have an independent appraisal of the company’s business model. Much like buying shares of any other kind of publicly traded company, it’s necessary to understand everything about the company. That means knowing what they do, what they make, what products are offered, how their business model works and who their major competitors are.
One of the things that makes penny stocks so appealing is the fact that most of the businesses offering them are extremely simple. One typical kind of penny stock is a mining company that profits only when the price of the material it extracts goes above a certain level. There are also some oil exploration stocks that are valued in the same way.
Penny stocks are rated as a high risk vehicle by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Some of the risks involved include incomplete or indirect reporting of finances, fraud, and limited liquidity. People playing using a day trading strategy, sudden demand on penny stocks can create wide ranging volatility, which also makes it hard to short sell them.
The financial reporting guidelines on penny stocks are actually pretty loose. Unlike the national exchanges, not much is required of companies that list this way – in fact, sometimes these stocks will just de list for a few days! In the investment type called Pink Sheets, penny stocks have nearly no regulatory requirements at all, including few to no minimum accounting standards or reporting guidelines.
Because these stocks aren’t standardized and don’t have an generally accepted requirements for accounting, they can be extremely vulnerable to being manipulated or even just plain fraud. People posing as independent observers can encourage people to run up the price, then they sell and de list the stock. This is the classic pump and dump scam.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should never invest in penny stocks. There are lots of real, legitimate startup companies out there, and they need to have a good place to get up and running. If you’re able to pick a winner, you’ll get an impressive return.
If you’re someone who can spot companies that have a lot of promise, you could end up with a big payback. Even if you lose on eighty percent of your picks, the twenty-five percent that do work out, will be enough to make up for the rest.
