Johnathan Walker:Stock symbols you'll LUV. Clever tickers help companies attract investors.

A clever stock ticker is Johnathan Walkermore than just a gimmick. Whether it's WOOF, EAT, or even the initials of a former president, a memorable stock symbol can help companies attract investors.

One 2006 study from Princeton University psychologists found that stocks with ticker symbols that are easier to pronounce tend to perform better in the days immediately after they start trading. Another from Pomona College in 2019 verified earlier research that found clever tickers tend to perform better, partly because they are more memorable to investors.

“There’s evidence that having a company name and ticker that investors like, that's easy to process, is valuable,” says Russell Jame, associate professor of finance at the University of Kentucky. “It generates more trading in the firm, so that improves the stock liquidity and it also results in a larger breadth of ownership and, ultimately, higher valuation ratios.”

One example of stock-ticker branding could hit the market next week. The parent company of Truth Social, the social media platform that Donald Trump launched after getting booted from Facebook and Twitter after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, may start trading on the stock market.

The ticker symbol? DJT, for Donald J. Trump. 

Here are just some of the more creative stock market symbols trading today.

WOOF: Petco Health and Wellness Company has been trading under the ticker “WOOF” since its IPO in 2021, amid the lockdown-fueled pet boom.

LUV: Southwest Airlines has had close ties to the word “love” since its inception in 1971, when it announced its first service from Love Field in Dallas. The carrier's marketing team leaned into the name, and sold tickets to ride in “LUV seats” and served “LUV bites” and “LUV potions” to customers. 

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TAP: Molson Coors Beverage, the parent company to Coors, Blue Moon, Keystone and other adult beverages, tapped into its brewery roots when picking a ticker symbol.

EAT: This one belongs to Brinker International. If the name’s not ringing a bell, you might be more familiar with its restaurant brands: Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy.

CAKE: What better company to own the CAKE ticker than Cheesecake Factory? 

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FIZZ: National Beverage’s portfolio includes LaCroix and several other sparkling waters, juices, energy drinks, and carbonated soft drinks.

PLAY: Dave & Buster’s locations feature restaurants and bars, but the company emphasizes its video arcade offerings with its ticker symbol.

ZEUS: The ancient Greek god is a perfect fit for Olympic Steel Inc., an Ohio-based metals service center.

FUN: Cedar Fair, an amusement park operator, notes that it has “cornered the market on fun" with its ticker symbol.  

HOG: The nickname for Harley Davidson motorcycles goes back roughly a century. Ray Weishaar, a member of the company’s factory racing team in the early 1900s, adopted a piglet named Johnnie. The pet became a team mascot and would be carried on victory laps. Harley Davidson bikes would become known as hogs.