How to Sell Stock After the IPO (4 Steps)

Speak to the company's CFO or a finance executive about your current shares. The CFO or financial executive should be able to tell you what you have and the value of your stock in the company.
Determine when you are able to sell your shares. In some cases, you cannot sell your shares immediately following an IPO. This depends on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and your company's policy on individual shares. This delay is typically called a 'holdout period' or 'lockout period.'
Discuss the options you have to sell the stock with your company's financial manager. Do you need to go through a specific broker or firm? If so, contact that broker to sell your stock. Obtain your certificate for the amount of shares you own.
Bring your stock certificate to your bank and ask for the investment officer. Ask the investment officer to sell the stock at the current price. The value of the stock will be returned to you, usually within three days.

How to Read Stock Market Reports (7 Steps)

Create a list of acronyms for stocks in your portfolio to help you read stock market reports. You should update this list every time you make a trade and keep it handy when you review reports online or in the paper.
Start your stock market report by reviewing the closing price of each stock of interest. Most reports place this number immediately after the stock symbol, and it helps you determine the strength of that stock compared with others.
Review the amount of change in stocks as you read through various market reports. Some publications utilize a percentage change figure after the closing number, while others use the difference between starting and closing prices. All publications use an up or down arrow as an indicator of growth or decline for investors.
Check the change in different indexes and industrial sectors to assess overall economic strength. Your use of the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 in the American market can help you determine overall trends in the stock market.
Investigate the 52-week range of prices for a particular stock to determine where the stock started and where it has ended. This range is given on financial-services websites and business TV shows because it is meant for serious investors.
Supplement your need for immediate news on financial TV by bookmarking several financial websites. Your online-trading platform will provide instant updates of each stock in your portfolio. Financial-television tickers move too fast for uninitiated investors to make sense of the blur of symbols and numbers.
Read analysis and company profiles on a daily basis in stock market reports. Most reports have a financial analyst take a look at high- and low-performing stocks along with company news relevant to the overall market.