"E" Added To Stock Ticker Symbol
When a company that trades on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB) becomes delinquent in its reporting obligations with the SEC (for example, it submits a required filing late or in an incomplete form), the letter “E” will be appended at the end of the company’s stock ticker symbol. After the “E” is added, the company is given 30 calendar days (60 calendar days for most foreign companies and domestic banks), known as the “grace period,” to become current in its reports. If the company files complete required reports during the grace period, the “E” will be removed. If the company fails to correct its deficiency, the company’s stock symbol will be removed from trading on the OTCBB.
In addition, repeated delinquencies by a company in filing complete periodic reports with the SEC or other applicable regulator, or removal of the company’s security from quotation on the OTCBB because of its failure to file required reports within the prescribed period, can result in the security becoming ineligible for quotation on the OTCBB for a one-year period.
Specifically, if an OTCBB-quoted company is delinquent in filing complete required annual and quarterly reports with the applicable regulator three times in the prior two-year period, quotations of a security on the OTCBB will be prohibited until the company has timely filed in complete form all required reports due in a one-year period. Further, if a security is removed from the OTCBB twice in the prior two-year period, the security is subject to removal from quotation on the OTCBB until the company has timely filed in complete form all required reports due in a one-year period. For more detailed information, please read FINRA Rule 6530.
Stock symbols for OTCBB securities may also have other fifth letters added to them, such as the letter “Q” (indicating that a company is in bankruptcy proceedings). You can view the complete list of fifth letters that may be attached to a company’s stock symbol on the OTCBB website. Stock symbol changes, as well as new issues, name changes, and deleted issues for OTCBB securities, appear on the OTCBB Daily List.
