Can a stock run out of shares?
Specialists and market makers always have enough shares in their inventory to sell to you, but even if they run out of shares, they always can borrow them from someone else. These professionals make money when they trade, so they will always find a way to accommodate a buy order at a small profit.
What Happens If a Stock Price Goes to Zero? If a stock's price falls all the way to zero, shareholders end up with worthless holdings. Once a stock falls below a certain threshold, stock exchanges will delist those shares.
When there are no buyers, you can't sell your shares—you'll be stuck with them until there is some buying interest from other investors. A buyer could pop in a few seconds, or it could take minutes, days, or even weeks in the case of very thinly traded stocks.
If the buyout is an all-cash deal, shares of your stock will disappear from your portfolio at some point following the deal's official closing date and be replaced by the cash value of the shares specified in the buyout. If it is an all-stock deal, the shares will be replaced by shares of the company doing the buying.
The most common question people have about company shares is if there is a limit to how many shares they can purchase. Because a company cannot offer unlimited shares, there will be some limit to how many shares are available to buy. When a company makes an initial public offering, it will issue a set number of shares.
If at the time of incorporation the documents state that 100 shares are authorized, then only 100 shares can be issued. But just because a company can issue a certain number of shares doesn't mean it will issue all of them to the public.
A stock price can never actually go below zero. So you won't owe anybody any money. You just won't have anything. If a company goes out of business, they'll likely have outstanding debts that creditors will try to collect.
Even though the value of a stock can never go below zero, it is possible to lose more than what you invested in the stock market and end up with a debt. This can happen when a stock is declining in value, as well as when it is appreciating in value.
A company can elect to delist its stock, pursuing a strategic goal, or it can be forced off the exchange because it no longer satisfies its minimum requirements. A stock dropping below $1 per share for an extended period of time can be one reason for delisting.
When a stock is heavily shorted, and investors are buying shares — which pushes the price up — short sellers start buying to cover their position and minimize losses as the price keeps rising. This can create a "short squeeze": Short sellers keep having to buy the stock, pushing the price up even higher and higher.
Can you go negative on a stock?
The value of the stock itself can't go negative. It can only become zero is the company goes bankrupt. The only case when you can see negative result is if you bought the stock and the price declined.
If you see a stock that's appreciating on low volume, it could be a dead cat bounce. Logically, when more money is moving a stock price, it means there is more demand for that stock. If a small amount of money is moving the stock price, the odds of that move being sustainable are lower.
What Are Shares Outstanding? Shares outstanding refer to a company's stock currently held by all its shareholders, including share blocks held by institutional investors and restricted shares owned by the company's officers and insiders.
