Although a company may emerge from bankruptcy as a viable entity, the creditors and the bondholders generally become the new equity owners -- and their first order of business is to cancel the existing equity shares. If the company does come out of bankruptcy, there may be two different types of common stock, with different ticker symbols, listed for the same company. One is the old common stock (the stock that was on the market when the company went kaput), which will trade on the Pink Sheets or over the counter with a five-letter symbol ending in "Q". The second is the new common stock that the company issued as part of its reorganization plan. If you are betting on the company to rise from the ashes, this is the one you want, so make sure you place your order correctly.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.