What does .ob behind a stock in the stock market stand for?

Question

I am watchin a stock that has .ob behind the the name such as :lqmt.ob I want to buy it but the .OB has me concerned

Answer 1

The .OB means its a NASDAQ bulletin board stock.  IE its a smaller company that does not meet the listing requirements to be on the regular stock exchange.  

To be listed a company needs to be at least certain size, and have at least a certain number of shares outstanding at a specified price.  

Since this stock is not listed the stock will be followed by fewer people and only have limited interest but it still has to file regular forms with the SEC, and should still be pretty safe, though certainly not as safe as listed stocks.

For me these stocks are good as so few people follow them that you can sometimes find some real hidden bargains, but they are also riskier stocks as they are typically smaller companies and one can often find very little info on them.