ADR: American Depositary Receipt

Securities issued in the U.S., representing shares of a foreign company on a U.S. stock exchange. The performance of these depositary receipts is parallel with their domestic performance. It is a negotiable certificate floated by a US bank; this is how foreign shares can be traded in the USA (overseas equivalent of GDR). Because of legal regulations the shares of European issuers are deposited in a custodian bank, and the freely convertible ADR of the underlying security denominated in U.S. dollars are traded at the market.