What is reverse stock split?
A reverse stock split occurs when a publicly traded company reduces the number of its outstanding shares. A reverse stock split decreases the number of outstanding shares and proportionately increases the price per share of those outstanding shares.
A reverse split takes multiple shares from investors and replaces them with fewer shares. The new share price is proportionally higher, leaving the total market value of the company unchanged.
They are seen as a sign that a company is in financial trouble and sees boosting its stock price artificially as the only way out. They're not wrong, but in fact, a number of companies have been forced to reverse-split their stocks during a bad stretch only to make a genuine comeback in market value over time.
Reverse splits also can diminish or force out small investors, who may not have enough shares to be consolidated. For example, if a company decided on a 1-for-50 reverse split, any holders of fewer than 50 shares wouldn't be offered a fractional new share. They would instead be paid cash for their shares.
If you own 50 shares of a company valued at $10 per share, your investment is worth $500. In a 1-for-5 reverse stock split, you would instead own 10 shares (divide the number of your shares by five) and the share price would increase to $50 per share (multiply the share price by five).
A stock split itself doesn't cause an investor to lose money, because the total value of their investment doesn't change. What changes is the number of shares they own and the value of each of those shares.
Does it matter to buy before or after a stock split? If you buy a stock before it splits, you'll pay more per share than what it'll cost after it splits. If you're looking to buy into a stock at a cheaper price, you may want to wait until after the stock split.
Several of these studies allude to the notion that reverse stock splits might attract short selling activity. Kadiyala and Vetsuypens (2002) suggest that if reverse stock splits enhance liquidity, as documented in Han (1995), both the risk of a short squeeze and the opportunity cost of a short sale are lowered.
Splitting the stock brings the share price down to a more attractive level. The actual value of the company doesn't change but the lower stock price may affect the way the stock is perceived and this can entice new investors.
For example, if most shareholders of a stock own fewer than 1,000 shares, the company can do a 1:1,000 reverse split and squeeze out the investors who own fewer shares by paying them for their holdings. Those shareholders would either have to accept that price or buy more shares to total 1,000.
Why do investors hate reverse splits?
Many times reverse splits are viewed negatively, as they signal that a company's share price has declined significantly, possibly putting it at risk of being delisted. The higher-priced shares following the split may also be less attractive to certain retail investors who prefer stocks with lower sticker prices.
A company may declare a reverse stock split in an effort to increase the trading price of its shares – for example, when it believes the trading price is too low to attract investors to purchase shares, or in an attempt to regain compliance with minimum bid price requirements of an exchange on which its shares trade.
Among the 1206 firms conducting a reverse stock split, we find that, within five years of the reverse split, 138 or about 11% are acquired by another company while 568 or about 47% enter bankruptcy or fail to meet listing standards.
A reverse stock split may be used to reduce the number of shareholders. If a company completes a reverse split in which 1 new share is issued for every 100 old shares, any investor holding fewer than 100 shares would simply receive a cash payment.
The 1-for-70 reverse stock split will automatically combine and convert seventy current shares of the Common Stock into one issued and outstanding new share of Common Stock.
Stock splits are generally not taxable, as the cost basis per share is updated to reflect the new stock structure and price so that the total market value is the same.
As a result of the reverse stock split, every 23 shares of the Company's Common Stock will automatically be combined into one share of Common Stock.
The cost basis per share remains the same. The split and reverse split have no impact on the cost basis per share.
The 1-for-30 reverse stock split will automatically convert 30 shares of the Company's common stock into one new share of common stock.
How did the Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares become so expensive? It was a deliberate strategy by Warren Buffett to keep the number of shareholders low. When most companies increase in value, the corporation will “split” shares - give you two shares for each one you have, cutting the price in half.
Should I sell before a reverse split?
Selling before a reverse stock split is a good idea, but selling after the reverse stock split is not. Since you can sell before and after a reverse stock split, selling during one is optional. The main advantage of selling before the reverse stock split is that you don't have to wait around for it to happen.
One way is to buy shares of the company before the reverse split occurs with the plan to sell them soon afterwards. This can be profitable if the company's stock price increases after the split. Another way to make money from a reverse stock split is to short sell the stock of the company.
Reverse stock splits are rare in today's stock market in part because of their controversial nature. A reverse stock split reduces a company's outstanding shares. It's the opposite of a regular, or forward, stock split in which a company increases its shares.
While a standard forward stock split is generally considered bullish, a reverse stock split is typically considered bearish.
The post-reverse split share price is calculated by multiplying by the number of shares consolidated into one share, which is ten in our illustrative scenario. Initially, the market value of your equity is worth $180.00 (200 Shares × $0.90), and after the reverse split, they are still worth $180.00 (20 Shares × $9.00).
