It stands for at-the-market offering; an offering of securities into an existing trading market for outstanding shares belonging to the same class at other than a fixed price on, or through the facilities of, a national stock exchange. It may also be made into, or through, any other market maker.
An at-the-market offering is a type of follow-on offering of stock conducted by publicly traded companies in order to raise capital over time by incrementally selling new stock into the market through a stock exchange. In an at-the-market equity offering, a company can sell any amount of just-issued or pre-owned shares at current market prices through a an intermediary (i.e., a broker-dealer). However, at-the-market offerings are often smaller in size (smaller lots), involving a set number of shares that would be sold at a set price per a respective lot.
Only primary eligible issuers (i.e., issuers eligible to register a primary offering) are usually allowed to register “at-the-market” offerings.
Alternative terms for such offerings vary, including dribble-out facilities, controlled-equity offerings, or equity-distribution programs.
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