Let us approach this question citing an example which will help you to understand better as to what are penny stocks.

A new company has started selling a product which is quite popular and now the company wants to manufacture the product on a mass scale so that it can sell it to the whole world, but does not have enough capital for mass production. In such a scenario the company tries to raise money by making the company public.

Supposing the company needs a million dollars to start production, it can set its stock price at any level it wants to. The company also realizes that selling a million shares worth $1 each stock is a far better option than selling 100,000 shares at $10, as the public do not want to risk their money on an unknown company and would rather prefer to go with the $1 shares. These are known as penny stocks. Thus the question what are penny stocks, can be answered from the company’s point of view, as a means of making the company public and raising money on the stock market.

From the stock trader’s point of view, what penny stocks are can be answered in a number of ways. Some traders state that the trading of any stock for less than $1 is identified as penny stock, while for some it is the stock that is dependent on the value given by the market to the company that is issuing these stocks. For those who want to buy penny stocks, see them as assets whose cost price will increase rapidly and help them gain profits.

For those who are interested in selling, the question, what are penny stocks has a different connotation. For them it means selling the stocks as soon as they see any inclination of profits as they can be highly unstable and cannot be kept with one for long. The investment industry gives a different view on what are penny stocks. For the industry it spells opportunity where the traders can make large amounts of profit which is not possible in other investments.

For instance, it is an opportunity for the new companies to grow, and for the brokerage houses, it is a source of commission trading. On a general note penny stocks are those whose share prices are under $5.