Micro-Cap Stock

A micro-cap stock generally has a market capitalization between $50 million and $300 million, sitting just above penny stocks in size. Micro caps often trade on thin volume, carry wide bid-ask spreads, and file with the SEC but attract little to no analyst coverage, leaving investors to do their own research from primary filings.

The category has produced some of the market's biggest long-run winners precisely because they started small enough to grow many times over, but it has also produced the majority of total losses and outright frauds, since limited oversight and thin liquidity make micro caps an easier target for manipulation.