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penny stock

penny stock

4 6.4
A very cheap share of a small public company usually under one dollar
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛni stɑk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : acción de bajo precio
  • Well, my man just spent 53K on a penny stock.
  • penny stocks scam
  • buying penny stocks
  • selling penny stocks

And so I saw the penny stock business and saw like the sleaze factor in that.

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Examples

  • Click here and get alerts on the best penny stocks free.

    Blog text (26)
  • Hyman was a very wise man who had made a fortune in penny stocks.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Looking for hot penny stocks?

    Blog text (14)
  • The pink sheets, the penny stocks, where we make the money.

  • Bottom line: PZOO was expected to be one of the hot penny stocks to end the summer season with.

    Blog text (14)
  • Have you been doubling your money or better on penny stocks that have exploded higher?

    Blog text (25)
  • Bottom line: GNGR is a sweet penny stock today, and now that the secret chocolate recipe is out, this could see itself on the boards for some time with Halloween just around the corner.

    Blog text (26)
  • And we know that GE or Microsoft and Exxon is a safer investment than a penny stock or a small startup that just went public.

  • Shareholders are reaping the penny stock benefits today with Gunther Grant Inc. (GNGR).

    Blog text (26)
  • Last year, I purchased a penny stock that quickly doubled in value.

How Risky

penny stock
  • Specialized
4 6.4
small-cap
  • Specialized
4 7.0
blue-chip stock
  • Specialized
4 4.1
government bond
  • Specialized
14 2.7

Surface Forms

penny stock singular
penny stocks plural

Morphology

penny + stock

The meaning 'a share that trades at a very low price' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'penny' (a very small unit of money / very cheap) plus 'stock' (a share). Although finer market thresholds (e.g. under $1) are technical, a B1 learner who knows both words will understand the basic idea of a very cheap share.

Etymology

Penny stock comes from the picture of a penny, a very small coin, and a stock that sold for almost nothing, so the name shows how cheap the share looked. So, the phrase now means a share in a small company that trades at a 'very low price' and is often 'risky'.