So you are looking for a "smart guy" to answer your technical question. Okay 'desarcmo'. I will answer it for you. First of all, the otc market, including NASDAQ, is, indeed, a negotiated market, in contrast to a listed stock exchange such as the NYSE. In the unlisted or otc market, trades are negotiated by market makers, who compete against one another, for the best bid or ask price, at a given moment, depending upon whether they have received a buy or sell market order, that needs to be filled at the best price. Both listed stocks which trade on exchanges, as well as unlisted stocks, trade as a general rule, in what may be referred to as the secondary market. Bear in mind one is not buying a new underwriting, whose shares would be purchased directly from the corporation itself, as a new issue. Once the stock is underwritten and begins trading on NASDAQ, for example, one now may instructor his broker to purchase shares for his account, for example, INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, and he will do so, depending upon the type of order the client has placed. The point I am making is that one is not buying shares of Inovio directly from Inovio itself, when he places an order through his broker. The broker will instruct his firm to purchase shares for his customer, and this will be done by his company's trading department, from a market maker, off of the secondary market, who has acquired stock for his trading account. If it is "at the market", the customer's brokerage house is obligated to get the order "filled", at the best possible price, at that particular moment. Now in an actively traded stock such as Inovio, it is not difficult to buy or sell a fairly good sized block of stock, because the market makers, whose job in part is to maintain an orderly market, will be able to acquire a reasonable amount of stock from other market makers, if he does not have enough shares on hand to fill the order. This will be done, in part, by raising the share price on a buy order, if necessary, thus attracting more investors who wish to sell at a higher price. In the case of trying to acquire a larger block of stock, especially on less actively traded shares, this may take some time for the market maker to accumulate (or sell), the requested number of shares. Also keep in mind that some stocks trade like water, and what appears to be a large number of shares trading in a particular company, may actually be a routine amount, especially when it comes to penny stocks. On the other hand, there is no question that supply and demand plays a major role. When there are more buyers than sellers, a stock may often be trading higher. Now, if an institution wishes to sell or buy a very large position in a company's stock, often times this will be done on what is known as the third market. Often, in this market, the designated price of a large block of institutional shares may have already been agreed upon earlier, and would have little or no connection, in many cases, as to the then current market price on the secondary market. I hope this brief explanation will give you a little understanding of market technicalities, and as to why a large block of shares, may not necessarily move the price per share, "through the roof".
