Ticker symbols are a series of unique letters that are used to identify a stock, and they can give investors valuable information. If you want to use a quoting service, you’ll need to know the ticker symbols of the stock your are interested in.

Various exchanges and types of funds use different numbers of letters. Mutual funds have five letters, and end with X. Money Market funds are three letters long and end with XX. Stocks in the NYSE and AMEX have three letters. On NASDAQ single-issue common stocks have four letters, and other stocks have five letters, with the fifth letter being a code. Here is quick list of what the fifth letter stands for.

A - Class A
B - Class B
C - Issuer qualification exceptions
D - New
E - Delinquent in required filings with the SEC
F - Foreign
G - First convertible bond
H - Second convertible bond, same company
I - Third convertible bond, same company
J - Voting
K - Nonvoting
L - Miscellaneous situations, such as depository receipts, stubs, additional warrants, and units
M - Fourth preferred, same company
N - Third preferred, same company
O - Second preferred, same company
P - First preferred, same company
Q - Bankruptcy proceedings
R - Rights
S - Shares of beneficial interest
T - With warrants or with rights
U - Units
V - When issued and when distributed
W - Warrants
Y - ADR (American Depository Receipts)
Z - Miscellaneous situations such as depository receipts, stubs, additional warrants, and units