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Would a stock by any other ticker smell as sweet?

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  • Head, Alex
  • Smith, Gary
  • Wilson, Julia

Abstract

Some stocks have meaningful ticker symbols; for example, LUV (Southwest Airlines), MOO (United Stockyards), and GEEK (Internet America). Such tickers might be a useful signal of the company's creativity, a memorable marker that appeals to investors, or a warning that the company feels it must resort to gimmicks to attract investors. This paper investigates the performance of stocks with memorable ticker symbols during the years 1984-2005 and finds that, on average, their daily returns are higher than for the overall market.

Suggested Citation

  • Head, Alex & Smith, Gary & Wilson, Julia, 2009. "Would a stock by any other ticker smell as sweet?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 551-561, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:49:y:2009:i:2:p:551-561
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang & Hu, Yang & Lucey, Brian & Oxley, Les, 2021. "Aye Corona! The contagion effects of being named Corona during the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    2. Baer, Naomi & Barry, Erica & Smith, Gary, 2020. "The name game: The importance of resourcefulness, ruses, and recall in stock ticker symbols," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 410-413.
    3. Blair, Sean, 2020. "How lacking control drives fluency effects in evaluative judgment," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 97-112.
    4. Qiu, Jiayue & Wu, Hai & Zhang, Lijuan, 2021. "In name only: Information spillovers among Chinese firms with similar stock names during earnings announcements," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    5. Durham, Greg & Santhanakrishnan, Mukunthan, 2016. "Ticker fluency, sentiment, and asset valuation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 89-96.
    6. Xia, Feilian & Thewissen, James & Shrestha, Prabal & Yan, Shuo, 2024. "The power of a name: Exploring the relationship between ICO name fluency and investor decision making," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Xing, Xuejing & Anderson, Randy I. & Hu, Yan, 2016. "What׳s a name worth? The impact of a likeable stock ticker symbol on firm value," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 63-80.
    8. Montone, Maurizio & van den Assem, Martijn J. & Zwinkels, Remco C.J., 2023. "Company name fluency and stock returns," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).

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