Outstanding order question.

[ragnarisapirate]

Guys,

 

Is there a way to see all of the orders that are outstanding in a market for a security? I know you can see the bid/ask for several market makers on pinksheets.com, but, was hoping to get an idea for the number of orders that are out there... Basically, I am trying to build a position in a security that is pretty thinly traded and has a market cap under $2 million; if there was a huge block of stock that was available (say, as an All or nothing trade) I would might willing to buy it. As that sort of info isn't available through any means that I know of, I figured that I would check with you guys.

 

Additionally, any input on ways to build positions in small companies would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to move pretty quickly on this one, and previously, have mainly just put out long dated good til canceled orders and let them sit for a while... Surely, there is a better way to go about it!

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[twacowfca]

Having a full service account with a large broker can be very helpful in this situation because the depth of the market is often much more than what is shown, especially on the pink sheets.  There may be a regional broker who may be especially familiar with a particular pink sheet stock if he had clients who were in it before it was delisted.  A call to one of those clients by the broker might shake a seller with a large block of shares out of a tree.  

 

Alternatively, you might make an all or none bid that is substantially below the current bid and see what happens.  Someone might take your bid or perhaps show interest by posting a similarly sized ask offer at a higher price.  Then, you can dance around until you arrive at a mutually acceptable price.  If there are no takers, you might increase your bid by a small amount to show that you are serious.  :)