A stock is generally halted right before a significant press release. This is generally done to insure the timely dissemination of important information to everyone at the same time so that no one is able to gain an advantage via inside information (despite the fact that it is often trading in a range based on the data before the release as insider trading still runs rampant) It is 'halted' in the sense that it can't be traded until the press release is done and trading is resumed. The news can be anything from an earnings release to pending litigation against the company. Unless you are already in a position, it is best to wait a little while before trading once it is resumed as the specialist/market makers and big players like funds and institutional traders will often cause cut throat pricing as soon as it is resumed (whether up or down, depending on the release).
Halted usually means some type of serious news is pending, or some type or order imbalance market makers need to get hold of like WCG today it was down $75.00 .. It got raided by the FEDS.. WCG was halted in the morning.. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=WCG,+
What does a halt mean if you're a trader? Well, if you're in the stock during the halt, expect stomach turning until the news comes out. If you trade long enough, it'll happen to you. It's only happened to me a couple times in 12 years of trading, but it's happened.
actually got halted yesterday afternoon during trading hours. for a trader it can really suck if you're on the wrong side. it happened to me once back in 2001....i had a fairly small position in a stock that got halted for a few days..i think i lost a a G and it sucked that i held up buying power for so long.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tradinghalt.asp http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/asp/TradeHaltShowPage.asp
So if you are in position and stock gets halted you can loss big time. Are there any limits in price change? How long period of time stock can be halted? Thank you guys
I have seen stocks halted for many weeks! This usually happens with penny stocks after they blow up. SEC Investigations etc