Topic: How To Invest

Pat: I am considering a stock called TOP Ships. Your thoughts, please. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

TOP ships, $3.96, symbol TOPSD on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 3.1 million; Market cap: $13.7 million; www.topships.org), transports crude oil, petroleum products and dry-bulk commodities such as iron and steel products, fertilizers and forest products by ship. The company consolidated its shares on a one-for-ten basis on June 24, 2011. Beginning on that date, the company’s shares began trading under the symbol TOPSD, to indicate that the reverse stock split had occurred. They will trade under this symbol for 20 trading days, then they will revert to the original TOPS symbol. Companies generally cut back their shares to make them more attractive to institutional or other large investors who avoid stocks that trade for just pennies a share. However, a consolidation can spark a temporary downturn, due to sellers who feel the consolidated stock “just isn’t worth” the higher price. This has already started with TOP: the shares dropped from $4 to $3.25 on June 24, 2011. TOP is down from over $11…