Merrill Edge Penny Stocks (OTC and Pink Sheets) in 2026

Can I Buy Penny Stocks on Merrill Edge?

Do you need a brokerage with strong software that lets you trade penny stocks and over-the-counter securities, including Pink Sheet stocks? If yes, you should check out Merrill Edge.

Understanding Penny, Pink Sheet, and OTC Equities

Well-known stocks like GameStop and Microsoft are traded on big exchanges. Lesser-known stocks (and some foreign stocks) usually trade over-the-counter, which means there is no central exchange. In the United States, most OTC trades happen through OTC Markets Group. This group sorts its stock offerings into key categories you should know.

OTCQX is the top tier. This means stocks in this group meet high financial standards, like having regular audited financial reports.

OTCQB is the next level. Stocks here belong to early-stage or growing companies.

The Pink Sheets are the third level. These stocks do not have financial requirements, which means they are riskier than the top two tiers. All Pink Sheet stocks are OTC, but not all OTC stocks are Pink Sheets.

The Grey Market is the bottom level. These stocks are not listed by brokerages like Merrill Edge.

OTC stocks are called OTC because of how they are traded. Penny stocks, on the other hand, refer to their low price, not where they trade. A penny stock can trade anywhere, although they are often found in the OTC market.

Searching for OTC and Penny Stocks

It is very easy to find OTC stocks in any of the top 3 tiers using Merrill Edge’s equity screener (we did not see any Grey Market stocks). To use the screener, hover over the Research tab and click the link for stocks. On the next page, click the stock screener tab.

Merrill Lynch penny Stocks

The stock screener has an exchange field, and one option is the OTC market. When we chose this, we got 5,519 results. Although this is a long list, some of these stocks cannot be traded. Merrill Edge does not follow a strict rule, but OTC stocks usually need a sufficient price and market cap to be traded.

In the results, there is an Action drop-down with several options, including watchlist, alerts, and trade. Clicking on the stock’s title shows the asset’s profile.

Instead of choosing the exchange, you can also set a current market price filter. There is a preset option for $5 or less, which is the common definition of a penny stock.

Stock Profiles

Penny and OTC stock profiles provide a lot of details at Merrill Edge. You can see this information on both the website and the mobile app. Details include:

- Comments from Bank of America Global Research
- Market cap
- Shares outstanding
- Price metrics
- Short interest (%)
- Dividend history
- Stock reports from Morningstar, CFRA, and Bank of America Securities

Placing a Trade

A trade link is available on each item in a scan’s results and on each stock’s profile. Click this link or button to open the order ticket, which is the same one used for regular stocks. During our test, we could not place OTC trades during extended hours.

We were able to trade some OTC stocks priced as low as $3.91, which is below the usual industry threshold of $5, and with market caps as low as $21 million.

Merrill Edge OTC Stocks Fees

Merrill Edge does not add extra fees or charges on penny stock or OTC trades. This means they are commission-free when placed online. Trades made by phone cost $29.95.

Moomoo as Alternative

As an alternative, you can try Moomoo that provides access to 12,000 penny stocks, pink sheets, and OTC BB stocks with $0 commission ().

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Updated on 1/23/2026.

About the Author

Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.