Speculation Makes a Comeback, And OTC Trading Sees a Surge
At a time when technology stocks are climbing and day trading is back, now comes a sign that froth is returning to the stock market: a record surge in trading of OTC Bulletin Board shares.
That electronic-quotation service, which quotes some of the smallest and sometimes-flimsiest stocks that aren't listed on the major markets, saw more than 41 billion shares change hands in September, surpassing for the first time the number of stocks traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where 40 billion shares traded last month, and the New York Stock Exchange, where 29 billion shares traded.
Bulletin Board volume has soared from 19 billion in August, and just 10 billion in October of 2002, even as volume on the Nasdaq is flat from a year ago. Trading on the NYSE is up from August, though down from last year.
The furious trading in what is the market's wild frontier has turned heads on Wall Street, where some veterans worry stocks are overheating as investors increase their appetite for risk. Trading also is climbing in stocks quoted on the Pink Sheets electronic system, which includes bankrupt companies like Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc., which is now called MCI. Stocks listed only on the Pink Sheets have no reporting requirements. (The market also includes some huge, foreign companies whose shares may not trade enough, or which use foreign accounting standards, and don't qualify for an exchange or Nasdaq listing.)
"That tells you speculation is alive and well again," says Kevin Dann, managing partner of Kevin Dann & Partners LLC, a New York brokerage firm.
Indeed, the last time trading of Bulletin Board shares came close to matching those of the Nasdaq was in March 2000, right before the bear market began.
"When speculative fever hits the market, the Bulletin Board gets an extra dose," says James J. Angel, associate professor of finance at Washington's Georgetown University. "The stocks there are so volatile, a good investor, if they are smart and lucky, can make a lot of money quickly. Though it is not for faint of heart."
Even though Bulletin Board stocks passed the big exchanges in trading volume last month, they were nowhere near the same level in terms of dollar value, since many Bulletin Board stocks trade for only pennies per share.
Wednesday's most heavily traded Bulletin Board company was iVoice Inc., an 11-person company that makes phone and voice computer systems, but has no earnings and trades for less than a penny. Still, 178 million shares of the company traded hands, as the stock dropped 8%. Advanced Optics Electronics Inc. saw 176 million shares traded on Wednesday, as the elecro-optic company soared 17% to just over a penny.
Bulletin Board companies must file regular earnings statements and have at least one market maker quoting the stock. (A market maker is a brokerage firm that actively tries to link buyers and sellers of a stock, and quotes the stock on the Bulletin Board system.)
Nasdaq operates the OTC Bulletin Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission has some regulatory oversight. Brokers who trade these stocks are governed by the National Association of Securities Dealers. But the Nasdaq can't delist a company from the Bulletin Board as long as a company is filing its paperwork with the SEC. There are no minimum standards on the Bulletin Board when it comes to a company's size, nor are there corporate-governance standards.
So these companies don't have to send quarterly earnings reports to their shareholders or have independent directors, for example. Pink Sheets companies don't even have to file earnings or other reports with the SEC.
There are 3,452 companies traded on the Bulletin Board system, roughly the same number as Nasdaq-traded companies.
Clearly, some companies head to the Pink Sheets because they want to avoid the legal and administrative expense of filing statements with the SEC. Prof. Angel says some major foreign companies, such as Nestle SA and Volkswagen AG, both Pink Sheet-listed stocks, haven't expressed interest in tapping the U.S. capital markets, so being listed on the Pink Sheets is no hindrance.
Still, many of the companies that trade on these electronic systems once were listed on the NYSE or Nasdaq, but hit rough times and no longer meet listing requirements for those markets. Others -- dubbed "Greta Garbo" stocks by investors -- are somewhat reclusive and never wanted to be publicly traded. But enough shares were issued and began trading that these companies found themselves listed on the Bulletin Board. Still, many others, experts say, are too green for the major markets, or are little more than souped-up business plans that issue limited shares that somehow find a following.
As the bull market has roared in the last few months, and stocks have climbed, many investors have shifted to the more inexpensive shares that trade on the Bulletin Board, despite their clear risks, traders say.
Jerome Mahoney, chief executive officer of iVoice, based in Matawan, N.J., says he has no idea why investors were trading his company so furiously.
"Why there is so much trading, I couldn't tell you," he said. "We don't know when we will turn a profit. We never tell anyone" that profit is around the corner.
Leslie Robbins , executive vice president of Advanced Optics Electronics, based in Albuquerque, N.M., said he believes one of the reasons there has been so much trading in his company's stock is recent news that Biomoda Inc., an early lung-cancer detection company that Advanced Optics owns a 30% stake in, itself may soon trade on the Bulletin Board.
"We have audited statements and positive net worth," Mr. Robbins notes.
场外交易市场交投飙升
值此科技类股节节攀升、当日交易重新抬头之际，股市再度充斥泡沫的迹象悄然凸显：场外交易公告牌市场(OTC Bulletin Board)成交量飙升至历史最高水平。
场外交易公告牌市场提供电子报价服务，在该市场交易的往往是那些没有资格在主要证交所上市、股价极低且规模很小的公司。9月份该市场成交量高达410亿股，首次超过那斯达克市场（400亿股）及纽约证交所（290亿股）。
场外交易公告牌市场成交量8月份仅为190亿股，2002年9月份为100亿股；而那斯达克市场成交量9月份则与上年同期持平；纽约证交所9月份成交量较8月有所增加，但低于上年同期水平。
场外交易公告牌市场这个股市蛮荒之地的交投如此活跃使华尔街颇感不安，某些资深市场人士担心，投资者热衷于追逐风险，表明股市已经过热。
与此同时，场外交易粉红单市场(Pink Sheets)的股票交易活动也大幅攀升，在该市场交易的公司包括安然(Enron Corp.)及现在名为MCI的WorldCom Inc.等破产公司。只在粉红单市场上市交易的公司不需公布业绩。（该市场还包括一些大型外国公司，这些公司交易量不足或按外国会计标准计算业绩，不够资格在证交所或那斯达克上市。）
纽约经纪公司Kevin Dann & Partners LLC的合伙人凯文?丹恩(Kevin Dann)表示，这意味著投机交易再度复活并迅速滋生。
实际上公告牌市场成交量上次接近那斯达克市场成交量是在2000年3月份，恰恰是在股市开始下滑之前。
华盛顿佐治敦大学(Georgetown University)金融专业副教授詹姆斯?安杰尔(James J. Angel)称，当投机风潮侵袭股市时，公告牌市场总是症状最重的那个。该市场股价波动极大，尽管胆小之人望而却步，但睿智且幸运的投资者却有可能在极短时间内捞取大把金钱。
尽管9月份公告牌市场成交量超过主要证交所，但成交额却远远落在后面，因为许多在公告牌市场交易的股票股价仅有几美分。
周三公告牌市场中交投最为活跃的个股是iVoice Inc.，这是一家总计拥有11名员工的公司，生产电话及音频电脑系统，该公司从未盈利，每股股价不足1美分，但周三该股成交量高达1.78亿股，股价下跌了8%。Advanced Optics Electronics Inc.成交1.76亿股，股价飙升17%，目前略高于1美分。
在公告牌市场交易的公司必须定期提交收益报告，并至少有一个造市商。（造市商是负责积极撮合一只股票的买家和卖家的经纪公司，并在公告牌市场负责该股报价。）
那斯达克负责经营场外交易公告牌市场，证券交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission, 简称SEC)负责该市场的某些规则监管。该市场中的经纪公司由全国证券交易商协会(National Association of Securities Dealers)管理。但只要公司还在向SEC提交报告，那斯达克就无权将其从公告牌市场中摘牌。而在公司规模及公司治理标准方面，公告牌市场没有最低要求。
因此这些公司无需向其股东公布季度收益报告，也不必拥有独立董事。粉红单市场中的公司甚至无需向SEC提交收益及其他报告。
目前在场外交易公告牌市场交易的大约有3,452家公司，基本与那斯达克市场上市公司数量相当。
显然有些公司是为了节省向SEC提交声明所需的法律及行政费用而选择在粉红单市场交易。雀巢公司(Nestle SA)和大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)都在粉红单市场上市。安杰尔称，这些大型外国公司无意利用美国的资本市场，因此在粉红单市场上市对它们并不构成阻碍。
当然，场外交易市场中也有许多曾在纽约证交所或那斯达克上市的公司，这些公司股票遭遇重创，无法再达到那些市场的上市要求，因此才转入场外交易市场；还有一些被投资者戏称为"葛丽泰?嘉宝"的公司，这些公司自愿隐遁，不愿公开上市，但公司发行了较多的股票进行交易，结果被列入了公告牌市场。当然更多公司是由于没有资格在主要证交所上市，才转投场外交易市场。
随著过去几个月股市逐步上扬，许多投资者开始转向公告牌市场中那些价格低廉的股票，尽管这些股票充满风险。
iVoice首席执行长佳若麦?马荷尼(Jerome Mahoney)称，他不清楚投资者为何如此大规模地交易该公司股票。
他称，他不清楚为何公司股票交投如此旺盛。公司尚不清楚何时才能实现盈利，公司从未宣布即将扭亏为盈。
Advanced Optics Electronics执行副总裁莱斯利?罗宾斯(Leslie Robbins)则表示，公司股票成交量剧增的原因之一可能与Biomoda Inc.的消息有关，这是一家早期肺癌检测产品公司，Advanced Optics持有该公司30%个股份，后者可能将很快开始在公告牌市场交易。 罗宾斯还表示，公司财务报表均经过审计，公司资产净值为正。
