WHAT'S IN A NICKNAME? PRICE AND VOLUME EFFECTS OF A PURE TICKER SYMBOL CHANGE

We examine the effect of a voluntary change in ticker symbol without other contemporaneous corporate events such as a name change. We find significant declines in trading volume and prices on the effective date of the ticker change. We segment the sample by exchange listing, share turnover activity, and subperiod. We observe declines in trading volume in all subsamples and negative abnormal returns in recent years.