SUNW to JAVA and Behavioral finance.

John Authers in the FT this morning has an excellent editorial on they psychology of ticker symbol names.

Why do some stocks do better than others? There can be many reasons but one, it appears, could be a change to a new and catchier ticker symbol.

On August 24, Sun Microsystems announced that it was changing its ticker from SUNW to JAVA - a catchy name that ties in with its history of developing Java technology.

Since then, it has outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 15 per cent and has outperformed the tech sector.

There are other examples. Since August of last year, Big Lots, the discount retailer, is up more tahn 60 per cent - far in excess of the market. OVer the previous decade, its stock had declined: but then it changed its ticker from BLI to BIG.

Academic research confirms that there is a pattern. A study of flotations on the New York Stock Exchange by Adam Alter and Daniel Oppenheimer, of Princeton University, shows that stocks whose tickers could be pronounced as a word beat stocks with unpronounceable tickers for up to a year after flotation, by a small but statistically significant margin.

Perhaps this expalins why an agribusiness exchange-traded fund launched last week opted for the ticker symbol, MOO

Paul Hickey, of Bespoke investment, suggests executives at Sun might also have read the Princeton research.

None of this is surprising to followers of behavioural finance, which substitutes psychological insights for economists' assumption that people are rational. When bombarded with complex information, it is human nature to look for short cuts. This, in turn, offers the opportunity for profit.

As Richard Thaler, the University of Chicago academic now regarded as a founder of behavioural finance, once put it: "People are not blithering idiots but they are a long way from hyperrational automatons."


I don't know, the trick didn't work too well for Red Hat, they went from RHAT to RHT. True the first one rolls off the tongue nicely.

Comments

Roy Russo said…
Right about now, "RHT", sounds like the high-pitched whistling sound a duck makes as it plunges to Earth. http://finance.google.com/finance?q=rht
adt43wt342 said…
I would lol your comment if I didn't own that much of the stock
Maybe they should change the name to RED (which seems to be still available on NYSE)?
adt43wt342 said…
That would be a great name, christophe.
Daniel Brum said…
Hey there's a great stock ticker just waiting to be taken by someone now that SCO Group has filed for bankruptcy...

http://weblog.infoworld.com/openresource/archives/2007/09/sco_bankruptcy.html?source=rss
Unknown said…
I am sad to report that the SMD ticket:
1. is already taken
2. does not perform well at all

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=smd
Anonymous said…
小魔女免費影片hilive tv免費電影臺灣妹妹情色自拍免費自拍情色電影小老鼠影片分享區情色文學自拍王自拍情色圖貼照片學生情色自拍純情色妹妹自拍免費色情短片線上觀看日本大奶女優短片影片交流,免費色情線上成人影片-sex貼片區檳榔西施摸奶影片免費色咪咪影片網,免費色情影片分享免費a片觀賞免費a長片線上看線上免費a片色咪咪影片網甜心寶貝貼影片av女優影片msn 聊天室入口台灣 yahoo 聊天室入口she say 聊天室入口tu 聊天室入口yahoo 聊天室入口聊天室入口 yamek21 聊天室入口ut 聊天室入口免費視訊聊天室入口情色電影院重車論壇愛愛影片一葉情成人貼圖片區夜激情成人聊天室免費體驗視訊聊天 ♀視訊聊天美女0204情愛視訊聊天網免費影音視訊聊天激情成人網愛聊天室視訊聊天辣妹網路視訊聊天情色網一夜激情交友聊天室免費成人影短片下載視訊影音聊天夜未眠成人影城情色短片免費網友自拍影片免費視訊交友聊天室情色電影院限制級影片限制級 影片分享高中生聊天室成人聊天網成人影片av女優影片線上看三級電影av情色網成人影視色咪咪影片網sex5220免費影片尋夢園上班族聊天室影音視訊聊天室ut聊天聯盟電愛聊天室琉璃仙境聊天室080苗栗聊天室sm聊天室桃園聊天室一夜情援交聊天室情色皇朝聊天室愛情紅綠燈視訊網愛交流區哈啦聊天室免費正妹視訊熱舞秀買春視訊視訊網愛聊天室都會男女視訊聊天室妹妹影音視訊聊天室即時通視訊女郎視訊館上班族1對1視訊視訊美女館主播情人視訊辣妹妹影音視訊聊天室激情網愛聊天免費UT視訊交友亞洲情色視訊交友s383情人視訊甜心寶貝直播免費aa片試看sex520免費影片免費自拍情色電影偷窺大本營台灣妹妹情色貼圖gir貼圖下載區激情成人網愛聊天室檳榔西施自拍照片寶貝馬子貼圖網金瓶梅貼圖007成人網情色貼圖台灣無限貼圖區美女工廠貼圖區無名辣妹自拍自拍偷窺貼圖區亞洲超人氣情色貼圖歐美街頭自拍苗栗人聊天室特兒素人自拍貼圖八國聯軍成人自拍貼圖區ㄧ葉晴成人貼圖片區唯我獨尊成人貼圖片區愛愛成人貼圖片區香港護士自拍貼圖區成人美少女自拍貼圖淫蕩天使情色網小魔女自摸自拍自拍做愛貼圖一夜情聊天室104自拍美女貼圖本土自拍寫真情色典獄長天使情色貼圖女孩自拍淫蕩天使情色貼圖成人貼圖站激情自拍館網友自拍真實自拍貼圖成人自拍網友自拍自拍盜攝館愛情公寓聊天室高雄一夜情聊天室學生族視訊BT成人論壇月光情色論壇愛情花園聊天室Girl美女視訊聊天室嗆辣妹影音視訊聊天室
Anonymous said…
85cc免費影城85cc免費影片免費 a 片台灣論壇免費影片線上免費a片觀看85cc免費影片線上觀賞a片免費看免費A片A片-sex女優王國免費卡通影片線上觀看小魔女免費影城免費看 aa的滿18歲影片免費a片卡通sex888影片分享區520sex貼片區sex520免費影片免費色咪咪影片網免費影片下載aaaaaa片俱樂部成人a影片論壇aaa片免費看短片後宮0204movie免費影片gogo2sex馬子免費影片免費線上a片aaa片免費看短片sex888免費看影片免費 a 片aaa的滿18歲卡通影片免費線上avdvdaaaa彩虹頻道免費影片sexdiy影城aaaa 片俱樂部sex520免費影片85cc成人影城洪爺影城免費線上歐美A片觀看彩虹頻道免費影片免費卡通影片線上觀看臺灣情色網線上免費a長片浪漫月光論壇 sex383線上娛樂場dudu sex免費影片 杜蕾斯成人bbs x693 com sex888sogo 成人論壇plus論壇sex520免費影片sex999日本美女寫真集sex888 freebbs hk85cc免費影片微風成人av論壇亞洲免費影片線上直播日本 avdvd 介紹免費觀賞視訊情色遊戲sexdiy影城免費成人視訊一本道 a片 東京熱情色影片免費影片下載asex888免費看影片論壇sex888movie影城情色小說本土辣妹34c影片直播吉澤明步免費a片av080免費試看免費aa片試看sex888 freebbs hk卡通美女a片免費試看aa的滿18歲影片a 免費影片觀賞aaa免費看影片aaaaa片俱樂部影片5278論壇免費影片觀賞av博物館sex383線上娛樂場日本 avdvd 介紹免費觀賞avdvd無碼情色電影sexy girl video movie亞洲禁果影城卡通aa片免費看383movie成人影城ut13077視訊聊天aio性愛dvd辣妹影片直播金瓶影片交流區免費a片卡通hilive tv 免費電影彩虹頻道免費短片台南援交友留言彩虹頻道免費短片aio交友愛情館a 免費影片觀賞

Popular posts from this blog

$6.66B for BEA: Larry goes Shopping

Thug vs Thug: Porsche 1, Hedge Funds: 0

Quickies #3, protecting IP in OSS