Does NYSE Listing Affect Firm Visibility?

Corporate managers often cite improved firm visibility as a motive for listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). We use three proxies to test this motive: the number of analysts following a firm, the number of institutional shareholders, and the number of shares held by institutions. We compare visibility changes over successive six-month periods for a sample of firms that listed on the NYSE and find that the changes in the post-listing period are less than the changes for the two pre-listing periods. Further tests suggest that increased visibility for a firm is primarily associated with changes in market capitalization, not with listing itself.