What is a Stock?
Stock What is a Stock? A Stock (also known as Equity ) is a security that represents the ownership of a fraction of a corporation. This entitles the owner of the stock to a proportion of the corporation's assets and profits equal to how much stock they own. Units of stock are called " Shares ". Stocks are of two types: Common Preferred Common Stockholders: Common Stockholders have the right to receive dividends and vote in shareholder meetings, while preferred shareholders have limited or no voting rights. Preferred stockholders: Preferred Stockholders typically receive higher dividend payouts, and in the event of a liquidation, a greater claim on assets than common stockholders. How to buy a Stock? In general, Stocks are bought and sold on Stock Exchanges, such as the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) or Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) . After a company goes public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) , their stock becomes available for investors to buy and sell