Finding Ticker Symbols

Finding the ticker symbol, security identifier, the sector, and other metadata is easy if you know where to look. This guide is intended to introduce some methods for searching, screening, and discovery.

note

For maximum coverage and functionality, install OpenBB with [all] packages.

The examples on this page will assume that the OpenBB Platform has been installed, the environment is active, and it has been imported into a Python session.

from openbb import obb

If the installation is fresh, or an extension was just installed, the Python interface will need to be rebuilt. It will only take a few moments to complete.

The simplest way to find tickers is with a basic text query.

Search Nasdaq

Details

obb.equity.search("JPMorgan", provider="nasdaq").to_df().head(3)

	symbol	name	nasdaq_traded	exchange	market_category	etf	round_lot_size	test_issue	financial_status	cqs_symbol	nasdaq_symbol	next_shares
0	AMJB	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Alerian MLP Index ETNs due January 28, 2044	Y	P		Y	100	N		AMJB	AMJB	N
1	BBAG	JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF	Y	P		Y	100	N		BBAG	BBAG	N
2	BBAX	JPMorgan BetaBuilders Developed Asia Pacific-ex Japan ETF	Y	Z		Y	100	N		BBAX	BBAX	N

Search Cboe

Details

obb.index.search("SPX", provider="cboe").to_df().tail(5)

	symbol	name	description	data_delay	currency	time_zone	open_time	close_time	tick_days	tick_frequency	tick_period
32	SPXVIV	PROSHARES S&P 500 EX-HEALTH CARE ETF	PROSHARES S&P 500 EX-HEALTH CARE ETF	15	USD	America/Chicago	08:00:00	16:00:00	MonToFri	C	Regular
33	VIX1D	Cboe 1-Day Volatility Index®	Estimates expected volatility by aggregating the weighted prices of P.M.-settled S&P 500 Index (SPX℠) puts and calls over a wide range of strike prices.	15	USD	America/Chicago	08:00:00	16:00:00	MonToFri	C	Regular
34	VIX3M	Cboe S&P 500 3 Month Volatility Index	The Cboe 3-Month Volatility Index (VIX3M) is designed to be a constant measure of 3-month implied volatility of the S&P 500? (SPX) Index options.	15	USD	America/Chicago	08:00:00	16:00:00	MonToFri	C	Regular
35	WPUT	Cboe S&P 500 One-Week PutWrite Index	Tracks the value of a portfolio that overlays a short weekly SPX put on one-month Treasury bills	15	USD	America/Chicago	08:00:00	16:00:00	MonToFri	C	Regular
36	XSPAM	Mini SPX Index (AM Settlement)	Mini SPX Index (AM Settlement)	15	USD	America/Chicago	08:00:00	16:00:00	MonToFri	C	Regular

Search ETFs

Details

obb.etf.search("gold", provider="tmx").to_df().iloc[-5:]

	VALT.B	VALT.U	XGD	ZGD	ZJG
name	CI Gold Bullion Fund	CI Gold Bullion Fund	iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF	BMO Equal Weight Global Gold Index ETF	BMO Junior Gold Index ETF
short_name	VALT.B:CA	CI Gold Bullion	iShares S&P/TSX	BMO Equal Weight	BMO Junior Gold
inception_date	2021-03-17	2021-01-06	2001-03-23	2012-11-14	2010-01-19
issuer	CI Global Asset Management	CI Global Asset Management	RBC iShares	BMO ETF	BMO ETF
investment_style	Gold	Gold	Mid Cap Growth	Mid Cap Blend	Small Cap Blend
esg	False	False	False	False	True
currency	CAD	USD	CAD	CAD	CAD
unit_price	27.23	20.25	15.15	65.3	57.9
close	27.31	20.22	15.15	63.9	58.1
prev_close	27.35	20.26	15.44	65.3	59.16
return_1m	0.0008210000000000001	-0.012248000000000002	-0.080416	-0.077245	-0.052842
return_3m	-0.010862	0.027784	-0.023677	-0.009352000000000001	0.000172
return_6m	0.056706000000000006	0.041046	-0.082551	-0.07498	-0.048376
return_ytd	-0.003618	-0.007048	-0.074745	-0.067335	-0.04167099999999999
return_1y	0.06689300000000001	0.06554299999999999	-0.129462	-0.0836	-0.08241899999999999
beta_1y	0.57958	0.725625	0.372225	0.469185	0.433886
return_3y	nan	0.030979999999999997	-0.033076	-0.021792	-0.028114
beta_3y	0.681245	0.699766	0.515024	0.671806	0.654367
return_5y	nan	nan	0.076559	0.08920299999999999	0.068623
beta_5y	-0.008613	0.233721	0.738329	0.997267	1.103204
return_10y	nan	nan	0.044696999999999994	0.05585	0.041349
beta_10y	0.633314	0.633314	0.38428	0.445404	0.452332
beta_15y	nan	nan	0.395464	nan	nan
return_from_inception	0.08311199999999999	nan	0.069155	-0.006563	-0.022995
avg_volume	430	690	456399	436	511
avg_volume_30d	1428	4747	1194453	3417	1491
aum	14976500.0	28147500.0	986265000.0	41396935.0	52271541.0
pe_ratio	nan	nan	26.4436	17.2285	26.8283
pb_ratio	nan	nan	1.909	1.3891	1.531
management_fee	0.00155	0.00155	0.0060999999999999995	0.0055000000000000005	0.0055000000000000005
mer	nan	nan	0.0060999999999999995	0.0062	0.0060999999999999995
distribution_yield	0.015347	0.016145	0.016212999999999998	0.008305	0.009537
dividend_frequency	Annually	Annually	Semi-Annually	Annually	Annually
beta_20y	nan	nan	0.560996	nan	nan

Search the SEC

Details

Use an empty string, "", to return the complete list - over 10,000.

all_companies = obb.equity.search("", provider="sec")

len(all_companies.results)

Out: 10840

The SEC sorts this list by market cap. Applying the to_df() method to all_companies will show Apple on top

all_companies.to_df().head(10)

symbol	name	cik
AAPL	Apple Inc.	320193
MSFT	MICROSOFT CORP	789019
GOOGL	Alphabet Inc.	1652044
AMZN	AMAZON COM INC	1018724
NVDA	NVIDIA CORP	1045810
META	Meta Platforms, Inc.	1326801
BRK-B	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC	1067983
TSLA	Tesla, Inc.	1318605
LLY	ELI LILLY & Co	59478
V	VISA INC.	1403161

tip

This endpoint can be used to map a ticker symbol to a CIK number.

Find an Institution

Some reporting companies, like investment trusts and insurance companies, do not have a ticker symbol directly associated with them. Filers in the US will have a CIK number, used to retrieve documents from the SEC.

obb.regulators.sec.institutions_search("Berkshire Hathaway").to_df()

name	cik
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY ENERGY CO	0001081316
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY FINANCE CORP	0001274791
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOME STATE INSURANCE CO.	0000829771
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC /DE/	0000109694
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC/DE	0000109694
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC	0001067983
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY LIFE INSURANCE CO OF NEBRASKA	0001015867
LMZ & BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY CO	0001652795

Find a Filing

Search for filings by CIK or ticker symbol.

homestate_filings = obb.equity.fundamental.filings(cik="0000829771", provider="sec")

homestate_filings.to_df().iloc[-1]

	2023-11-14
type	13F-NT
link	https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000829771/000095012323010929/xslForm13F_X02/primary_doc.xml
report_date	2023-09-30
accepted_date	2023-11-14 16:15:06+00:00
act	34
primary_doc_description
primary_doc	xslForm13F_X02/primary_doc.xml
accession_number	0000950123-23-010929
file_number	028-02226
film_number	231406391
is_inline_xbrl	0
is_xbrl	0
size	2960
complete_submission_url	https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000829771/0000950123-23-010929.txt
filing_detail_url	https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000829771/0000950123-23-010929-index.htm

Or, search by form type.

obb.equity.fundamental.filings("AAPL", type="4", provider="sec").to_df().iloc[-1]

	2023-11-14
type	4
link	https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000320193/000032019323000109/xslF345X05/wk-form4_1700004649.xml
report_date	2023-11-10
accepted_date	2023-11-14 18:31:09+00:00
primary_doc_description	FORM 4
primary_doc	xslF345X05/wk-form4_1700004649.xml
accession_number	0000320193-23-000109
is_inline_xbrl	0
is_xbrl	0
size	5066
complete_submission_url	https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000320193/0000320193-23-000109.txt
filing_detail_url	https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000320193/0000320193-23-000109-index.htm

Screen Markets

Details

Screeners provide a targeted search, a tool for comparison and discovery. Find stocks from around the world with the screener endpoint, and the openbb-fmp provider.

Find Stocks From India

results = obb.equity.screener(country="IN", provider="fmp").to_df()
len(results)

Out: 1821

Search by Sector

results = obb.equity.screener(country="IN", sector="Financial Services", provider="fmp").to_df()
len(results)

Out: 190

results.iloc[0]

symbol	HDFCBANK.NS
name	HDFC Bank Limited
market_cap	11344796293939
sector	Financial Services
industry	Banks—Regional
beta	0.714285
price	1505.1
last_annual_dividend	19.0
volume	11850413
exchange	NSE
exchange_name	National Stock Exchange of India
country	IN
is_etf	False
actively_trading	True

Search by Industry

results = obb.equity.screener(country="IN", industry="manufacturing").to_df()
len(results)

Out: 119

results.iloc[0]

symbol	PAGEIND.NS
name	Page Industries Limited
market_cap	418222172840
sector	Consumer Cyclical
industry	Apparel Manufacturing
beta	0.462
price	37495.6
last_annual_dividend	300.0
volume	12166
exchange	NSE
exchange_name	National Stock Exchange of India
country	IN
is_etf	False
actively_trading	True

Search by Exchange

Some countries, like America, have multiple exchanges. Narrow the search by combining two or more parameters. The example below finds the companies listed on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) that are domiciled in China.

obb.equity.screener(exchange="amex", country="CN").to_df()

symbol	name	market_cap	sector	industry	beta	price	volume	exchange	exchange_name	country	is_etf	actively_trading
AMBO	Ambow Education Holding Ltd.	4041842	Consumer Defensive	Education & Training Services	0.448	0.1425	203994	AMEX	American Stock Exchange	CN	False	True
ITP	IT Tech Packaging, Inc.	2945282	Basic Materials	Paper & Paper Products	-0.1	0.2926	14954	AMEX	American Stock Exchange	CN	False	True
DXF	Dunxin Financial Holdings Limited	1291625	Financial Services	Credit Services	1.632	0.325	2829238	AMEX	American Stock Exchange	CN	False	True
CPHI	China Pharma Holdings, Inc.	1024379	Healthcare	Drug Manufacturers—Specialty & Generic	0.875	0.0896	539863	AMEX	American Stock Exchange	CN	False	True

Filter by Metric

Applying some filters refines and targets the search. The example below finds listing on the NYSE domiciled in the USA, with a market cap between $100-300 billion, and exhibiting a beta value of less than 0.5

obb.equity.screener(
  exchange="nyse",
  mktcap_min=100000000000,
  mktcap_max=300000000000,
  country="us",
  beta_max=0.5,
  provider="fmp",
).to_df()

symbol	name	market_cap	sector	industry	beta	price	last_annual_dividend	volume	exchange	exchange_name	country	is_etf	actively_trading
MRK	Merck & Co., Inc.	258192673024	Healthcare	Drug Manufacturers—General	0.375	101.75	2.92	6760568	NYSE	New York Stock Exchange	US	False	True
VZ	Verizon Communications Inc.	152314546478	Communication Services	Telecom Services	0.391	36.23	2.66	14960968	NYSE	New York Stock Exchange	US	False	True

Get Available Indices

Details

List all indices from a source with:

indices = obb.index.available(provider="yfinance").to_df()

len(indices)

Out: 274

Filter the list down by querying the DataFrame.

indices[indices["name"].str.contains("ASX 200")]

name	code	symbol
S&P/ASX 200 Index (AUD)	au_asx200	^AXJO
S&P/ASX 200 Energy Sector Index (AUD)	au_energy	^AXEJ
S&P/ASX 200 Resources Sector Index (AUD)	au_resources	^AXJR
S&P/ASX 200 Materials Sector Index (AUD)	au_materials	^AXMJ
S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Sector Index (AUD)	au_industrials	^AXNJ
S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Sector Index (AUD)	au_discretionary	^AXDJ
S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Sector Index (AUD)	au_staples	^AXSJ
S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Sector Index (AUD)	au_health	^AXHJ
S&P/ASX 200 Financials Sector Index (AUD)	au_financials	^AXFJ
S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Industry Index (AUD)	au_reit	^AXPJ
S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech Sector Index (AUD)	au_tech	^AXIJ
S&P/ASX 200 Communications Sector Index (AUD)	au_communications	^AXTJ
S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Sector Index (AUD)	au_utilities	^AXUJ

tip

With the openbb-yfinance extension, index time series can be loaded using the ticker symbol or short code. Non-American indices have a code beginning with the two-letter country code.

(
    obb.index.price.historical("au_utilities", provider="yfinance").to_df().tail(1)
    == obb.index.price.historical("^AXUJ", provider="yfinance").to_df().tail(1)
)

date	open	high	low	close	volume
2023-11-17	True	True	True	True	True

The examples above show demonstrate the most basic ways to find ticker symbols with the OpenBB Platform. Create your own custom scripts for discovery by combining these with other methods.