| OCC | See Options Clearing Corporation | |
| offer price | See ask or offer price | |
| Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) | Any main or branch office of a FINRA member where one or more of the following take place: order execution or market making; public offerings or private placements are structured; customers' funds or securities are held; new accounts are approved; customer orders are reviewed and endorsed; advertising or sales literature for use by the member's associated persons is approved; the activities of associated persons at other branch offices of the member are supervised. | |
| open order | An order to buy or sell a security that remains in effect until it is either canceled by the customer or executed. | |
| operations | The back office of a brokerage firm where all clerical functions having to do with clearance, settlement, and execution of trades are handled. (See clearance, prompt receipt and delivery of securities, settlement) | |
| OPRA | See Options Prices Reporting Authority | |
| option | An instrument that gives the owner the right to buy or sell a specified number of shares of a specified stock at a specified price within a specified period of time. A call option allows the buyer to purchase the underlying stock at any time up to the expiration date of the contract. A put option allows the buyer to sell the underlying stock at any time up to the expiration date of the contract. | |
| Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) | The issuer of standardized options traded on exchanges. OCC is owned by the options markets. | |
| Options Prices Reporting Authority (OPRA) | A joint industry plan that disseminates inside quotations and last sale data for options. | |
| order flow | aggregated small orders to purchase or sell securities that brokers send to dealers often in return for cash payments. | |
| order matching | The Market Maker practice of pairing buy and sell orders for like amounts of securities at identical prices. (See Market Maker, Small Order Execution System) | |
| order ticket | A form completed by a registered representative of a brokerage firm upon receiving order instructions from a customer. | |
| OSJ | See Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction | |
| OTC | See over-the-counter securities | |
| OTCBB | See OTC Bulletin Board Service | |
| OTC Bulletin Board® Service |
The OTC Bulletin Board® (OTCBB) is a regulated quotation service that displays real-time quotes, last-sale prices, and volume information in over-the-counter (OTC) equity securities. An OTC equity security generally is any equity that is not listed or traded on Nasdaq® or a national securities exchange. OTCBB securities include national, regional, and foreign equity issues, warrants, units, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and Direct Participation Programs (DPPs). The OTCBB is a quotation medium for subscribing members, not an issuer listing service, and should not be confused with The Nasdaq Stock MarketSM. OTCBB securities are traded by a community of Market Makers that enter quotes and trade reports through a highly sophisticated, closed computer network, which is accessed through Nasdaq Workstation IITM. (See American Depositary Receipt, Nasdaq Workstation IITM, (The) Nasdaq Stock MarketSM) |
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| out-of-pocket loss | The difference between the value of what the purchaser parted with, and the value of what he or she has received. | |
| over-the-counter (OTC) securities | Securities that are not listed and traded on an organized exchange. |
