What is ‘Z’
A Nasdaq stock symbol specifying that the stock is a miscellaneous entity, such as a depositary receipt, stub, additional warrant or unit. When a stock has a Z after its ticker symbol, investors must do further research to determine why the letter has been added. However, Z historically had a different meaning in futures trading, where it indicated a delivery month of December until new options symbology was introduced in 2010. Z is also the ticker symbol for the home valuation website Zillow.
Explaining ‘Z’
Z is known as a fifth-letter identifier because Nasdaq-listed securities historically had only four characters. If a fifth letter appeared, it identified the issue as being different than a single issue of common stock or capital stock. Since 2007, Nasdaq-listed stocks may have as little as one letter in their ticker symbols. Other examples of fifth-letter identifiers are A or B for class A or class B shares, D for new issues and K for non-voting shares. Each letter of the alphabet has a specific Nasdaq meaning.
Further Reading
- An empirical comparison of published replication research in accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- An Empirical Study on Credit Rating of Listed Companies in China Based on Z Value Model [J] – en.cnki.com.cn [PDF]
- Solving fuzzy equations in economics and finance – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
