Resumen de Evidence on the issuer effect in warrant overpricing

Geoffrey F. Loudon, Kien T. Nguyen

• Prior literature offers evidence that warrant prices tend to be higher than the prices of marched options. Explanations for warrant overpricing include a liquidity premium, hedging costs, market power and investor perceptions. Each of these explanations suggest that overpricing is likely to be related to the identity of the issuer. Any such issuer effect may also be affected by differences in credit risk. This study reconfirms the existence of a large excess warrant premium and provides evidence that it is significantly related to the identity of the warrant issuer, even after taking into account important liquidity and hedging factors.