Stock Liquidity and Firm Value in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of stock liquidity on firm value in the time of COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from A-share listed companies in China, we calculate the firm value of Cumulative Abnormal Returns through the event study method and stock liquidity by the Amihud illiquidity. We find that significant negative relationships between stock liquidity and firm value exist in the first three days of the COVID-19 outbreak, while significant positive relationships in the following days. We also find that these negative relationships are more significant in severely impacted regions, small companies, and non-state-owned enterprises.