What is ‘R’
1. An occasional fifth letter in a Nasdaq-traded company’s ticker symbol that identifies the stock as a rights offering. Nasdaq-listed securities usually have four or five characters. The ticker symbol by itself has four letters; if a fifth letter appears, it identifies the issue as other than a single issue of common or capital stock. The Nasdaq has a fifth-letter identifier for every letter of the alphabet; for example, “D” denotes a new issue, “F” denotes a foreign issue and “Q” denotes bankruptcy.
2. The common symbol representing return in many financial formulas. There are many different types of returns and they are usually denoted with the upper or lower case letter “R,” though there is no formal designation. If there are multiple returns used in a calculation they are often given subscript letters.
Explaining ‘R’
1. The ticker tape is updated in real time and informs investors about the price and volume at which a stock is trading and how its price compares to the previous day’s close. During the day, it displays heavily traded stocks and the stocks of companies with major news most frequently; while the market is closed, it displays the closing prices of all publicly-traded stocks in alphabetical order.
2. In formulas, lower case “r” usually represents the required rate of return. RE is usually expected return. RM is usually the return on the market as a whole. Rf or Rrf is usually the risk free rate of return. R1, R2, R3, Ri are return in the first, second, third and ith period respectively.
Further Reading
- An empirical comparison of published replication research in accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- A survey of behavioral finance – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Pitfalls in the application of discriminant analysis in business, finance, and economics – www.jstor.org [PDF]
