How to Find Stock Symbols

Tough economic times have caused many investors to shy away from stocks, but a recession is often the best time to find great stock bargains. Two major stock exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation (Nasdaq), handle the majority of trading in North America. The NYSE represents many established companies, such as Mattel and General Electric. The Nasdaq is better known for high-tech stocks, including Google and Microsoft. Companies with publicly traded stock are assigned their own unique symbol--generally three letters on the NYSE and four or five letters on the Nasdaq. There are dozens of websites with symbol look-up tools to help you identify stock symbols for companies that pique your interest.

Instructions

Look-up Tools

1. Go to an established, reliable stock Web site, such as nasdaq.com or etrade.com.

2. Click on "Symbol Look Up."

3. Type in the name of the company you want to research. The results will display the company symbol, the type of stock (common or preferred) and the exchange it trades on. Amazon, for example, trades on the Nasdaq as common stock. Its symbol is AMZN.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you know a company's stock symbol, you can follow its progress online, in print or on financial news channels.

• Not all companies are publicly traded.

Resources

• Investopedia by Forbes