Spikes / falls in historical Google Finance chart - real trades or not?

[CRHawk]

 

So, I'm looking at the Google Finance chart on a thinly traded stock, to see if you get any unusually high or low trades... and I found some.  But when I look at another source (say NASDAQ) I don't see a matching high/low for the day.

 

In this case it is LDSVF on Nov 21, 2014.

 

How do I found it if this trade really happened? 

 

Maybe it was a case of a trade that happened, and then got canceled afterwards?

 

-Jeff

[nodnub]

 

So, I'm looking at the Google Finance chart on a thinly traded stock, to see if you get any unusually high or low trades... and I found some.  But when I look at another source (say NASDAQ) I don't see a matching high/low for the day.

 

In this case it is LDSVF on Nov 21, 2014.

 

How do I found it if this trade really happened? 

 

Maybe it was a case of a trade that happened, and then got canceled afterwards?

 

-Jeff

It may be an error. Google's data on low volume uncommon equities is not very good.

 

[*]the ticker is a 5 letter symbol ending in F.  This is usually or always an ADR trading on over-the-counter markets (OTC) in the US.

[*]Next try going to the OTCmarkets webpage. You can view the chart there and on the chart page there is a link to view price data for the selected chart range (the daily open/high/low/close data). It shows the volume of 6 on Nov 21 2014.  But it has a typical price of $5008.85 instead of ~$715 which is shown on google. http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/LDSVF/chart

 

Does that help?

[CRHawk]

Thanks!  The link to the OTC market does help!

 

As for the ADR, yup... I am aware of that :)  Strangely I've found F ADRs harder to buy than Y ADRs.

 

-Jeff

[oddballstocks]

There is also a lot of volume you never see reported for illiquid stocks as well.  Best way to know is to toss a bid out there and see what hits.

 

These things are more efficient than you'd think.  Maybe there are a few odd trades, but in my experience it's market makers putting out a required bid when they don't want to sell.  The quotes are sometimes just the bids.

[ItsAValueTrap]

Sometimes the erroneous trades is somebody (probably retail) getting screwed by shenanigans.  (*This is why you don't use market orders.)

 

I don't know if that still happens nowadays.

 

 

[LC]

What's the diff between the F and Y adrs? My broker only lets me buy the Y. Are the Ys onshore and the Fs offshore?

[nodnub]

What's the diff between the F and Y adrs? My broker only lets me buy the Y. Are the Ys onshore and the Fs offshore?

 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=diff+between+the+F+and+Y+adrs

 

yields this ---> http://www.otcmarkets.com/learn/otc101-faq

 

Why do some symbols have five letters?

The fifth character is a special identifier which is assigned by FINRA and designed to give more information about the security. To determine what fifth characters are used in our marketplaces, visit our Symbology Guide. A few of the most common can be found below:

F – Foreign Ordinary

P – Preferred Share

Q – Bankruptcy

Y – American Depository Receipt (ADR)

 

Google "difference between Foreign Ordinary and ADR"

 

yields this ---> https://research.scottrade.com/KnowledgeCenter/Public/Help/Article?docId=37010be1721740e0879fb4b3510db8ed

 

ADRs

ADRs are receipts for foreign shares. A foreign company can deposit shares into an American bank. The bank then issues receipts, or ADRs, on their behalf.

ADRs may not have a 1:1 ratio with the corresponding foreign shares..... /cont.

 

ORDs

The ordinary shares of foreign-based companies are not officially listed on American exchanges, but they can still be traded through a brokerage firm that is associated with the company's home market. All Canadian securities available to Scottrade customers are traded as ORDs.

ORDs have a 1:1 ratio between the home market security and the ordinary share issued in the U.S. ORDs can pay dividends, and they are taxed the same way as ADR securities...

 

additional discussion that may be useful:

http://boards.fool.com/otc-y-vs-f-symbols-29243763.aspx?sort=whole#29243763

 

Cheers