If you’ve heard anything about penny stocks, it’s probably that they’re a bad investment, or an Internet scam. There’s a lot of bad hype out there concerning penny stocks, and the bad rap has made many investors shy away from using penny stocks at are. But, are penny stocks dangerous to investors?

Penny stocks have a bad reputation for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that penny stocks are often used as a part of Internet e-mail scams. Nearly everyone has been exposed to these mails, which claim to offer cheap penny stocks that will bring a large return. But in truth, this is a scam, and will only cause you to lose your money.

This is one of the reasons that many try not to invest in penny stocks. But penny stocks are said to be a “high-risk” investment, which turns many people away from investing as well. After all, the words “high-risk” sound pretty scary…especially when it’s you’re money, right? High-risk means there’s a good potential to lose money, and no one wants that.

There are some advantages to penny stocks, however, and they can bring in a good return. In fact, penny stocks can be incredibly lucrative, and many investors choose to take the risk on penny stocks in hopes of getting a very large profit in the end. With penny stocks, investors often have to act quickly, as penny stocks infrequently trade.

This infrequent trading is one of the reasons that penny stocks are considered to be high-risk investments. It’s hard to sell stock that doesn’t trade very often. In the U.S., the term “penny stocks” is often applied to those publicly-traded shares that do not go through the major stock exchanges (NYSE, NASDAQ, or AMEX, for instance). Trading in an unsure market makes many investors leery of trying penny stocks out for themselves.

But for those who know how to finesse their stocks, penny stocks can bring in a good return, and this is what makes many investors bold enough to try them out. Are they risky? Yes. Are they unsafe? Not really – unless you invest in penny stocks that you find advertises in your e-mail. Don’t trust these spam messages, find your own penny stocks to invest in.

There are plenty of good penny stocks out there to invest in. It’s just a matter of finding them. Check business journals and talk to your stock broker if you have one. These are both good ways to find out about new penny stocks. Penny stocks are often cheaply bought, and in the best-case scenario are then sold for great profit. It’s this hope of a large return that keeps many investors coming back for more, buying more penny stocks, and hoping. When suck a prize awaits, many are willing to take those high risks.

Only you can decide if investing in penny stocks is right for you. Look into the stocks you want to buy before purchase, and make the decision for yourself – not for anyone else. When you decide your own financial fate, you enjoy the returns that much more.

Penny stocks: Penny stocks are the small value shares that are generally preferred by many people for investments. These shares can easily be purchased in pennies and that’s why are preferred for investments. However the investment in penny stocks is risky as you are not aware about the nature and background of the company where you are investing your money. Therefore all the precautions must be taken before investing in penny stocks and a thorough research about the company offering penny stocks is helpful in deciding in favor or against a specific penny stock.

Investment in penny stocks: A wise decision and through research about the penny stocks can be rewarding otherwise this is the highly risky market. You have to be careful and should never purchase the stocks being offered to you almost free or even in a few pennies. There are some good stocks on offer and in past a few stocks offered at 10 to 20 cents have crossed the five dollar mark although majority of stocks fails to do so.

Many people see the investment in penny stocks as an opportunity to earn a few dollars at the same time invest low amount so that the risk is minimum. People get learning experience while trading in penny stocks. People also develop some research skill about the companies offering penny stocks. It is good to learn about stock market by investing a small amount and therefore the basics of investment and trading can be easily understood.

Precautions: As investment in penny stocks is highly risky and therefore some precautions are necessary to avoid loss in this market. As the information about penny stocks do not come from reliable source, you should get the second opinion from another broker before making any investment in the particular penny stocks. Do not purchase the stocks in hurry as most of the time the broker will not give you sufficient time to make a decision. Think twice before making any investment and do not invest too much in a single stock.

You may get emails or phone calls about some of the penny stocks. The brokers or companies pay for such phone calls or email spammers and therefore you should avoid investing in such stocks. Many times lot of rumors are spread about some of the penny stocks and you should be alert and never pay attention to such rumors. It is better to consult financial consult or take second opinion before investing in any penny stock. Many times companies or broker may mislead you y offering free stocks or newsletters, you should avoid all such offers.

Summary: Many penny stocks has grown tremendously in the past from a mare 10 or 20 cent and crossed $5.0 mark. A lot of rumors prevails in the penny stock market so a wise decision can give you some profit otherwise you may lose your money.

Why do people invest in penny stocks if they are so risky? The answer lies in a few facts as well as a few misconceptions about penny stocks.  First let us look at the positive side of how penny stocks can be more profitable.

It is a well-known fact in finance that risk and return have a positive correlation. This means that an investment that carries greater risk will also give higher returns. The reason for this is very easy to understand and is almost intuitive. Suppose you had $10,000 to invest and two options A and B. Option A is a secure government bond that gives you 5% return, while option B is a higher risk investment in a company that will pay you only if it makes profits. Assume that this company has a history of making 5% Profits over several years and is likely to continue on the same lines.

That is, you can expect to get a return of 5% in future years, but that is subject to the company making the same level of profits. Where would you invest your money? If the returns are likely to be the same and if you are a sane person, you would obviously invest in the risk free option. Now suppose, option B were to pay you not 5% but 15% consistently, you might be tempted to put your money in it. In other words, a higher return can make you to invest in a riskier venture.

Since penny stocks are higher risk alternatives compared to regular stocks, the only way they can attract investment is by holding out a promise of higher return. How would a penny stock offer a higher return? This will be done not directly by the stock or the company, but by market forces. The market price of a stock is fixed on the basis of a few factors such as its intrinsic value and the return yielded by it. The market price of a stock divided by the return it gives is known as the price-earnings ratio.

For example, if $10 stocks were to be traded in the market at $20, and the company earns a net income per share of $1, the price-earnings ratio is 20. The price-earnings ratio will be higher for solid stocks that are known to be backed up by good management, have a history of consistent and good performance, and are perceived to be stable. The price-earnings ratio for stocks that are riskier, unknown and do not enjoy a positive perception will be much lower. This means that as against the example of price-earnings ratio of 20 that we assumed for a stable and well-known stock, a penny stock may have a much lower price-earnings ratio, say 3 or 4. Actual figures will depend on a number of other factors also.

Because of this, a penny stock will be priced lower for the same level of net income, and will therefore yield a higher return on the investment.