NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced the 2016 OTCQX® Best 50, a ranking of top performing OTCQX companies in 2015.  This is the second annual ranking since OTC Markets Group launched the OTCQX Best 50 on May 13, 2015.

The OTCQX Best 50 is an annual ranking of the top 50 U.S. and international companies traded on the OTCQX Best Market, based on an equal weighting of one-year total return and average daily dollar volume growth.  Companies in the 2016 OTCQX Best 50 were ranked based on their performance during the 2015 calendar year. 

"Our OTCQX Best 50 ranking annually recognizes outstanding companies on the OTCQX Best Market, issuers that are not only growing and enhancing shareholder value but are committed to providing an efficient and transparent market for their investors," said Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group.  "We are pleased to congratulate our 2016 OTCQX Best 50 companies and look forward to supporting them in their continued success."

About the 2016 OTCQX Best 50
2016 OTCQX Best 50 companies traded an aggregate $20.1 billion in dollar volume in 2015.  The companies delivered an average total return of 33%.  Twenty-nine of the 50 companies paid a dividend in 2015.

The #1 ranked company overall was Nemaska Lithium, Inc. (TSX-V: NMX; OTCQX: NMKEF), a Canadian lithium company, which had a total return of 106%.  The top performing U.S.-based company at #2 was AltiGen Communications, Inc. (OTCQX: ATGN) and the top performing non-Canadian global company at #14 was Germany's Infineon Technologies AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: IFX; OTCQX: IFNNY).  The best performing OTCQX bank at #3 was MainStreet Bank (OTCQX: MNSB) of Fairfax, Virginia.

Ten companies that were ranked on the OTCQX Best 50 last year remained on the list in 2016: Coastal Banking Company, Inc. (OTCQX: CBCO), Cortland Bancorp (OTCQX: CLDB), First BancTrust Corp. (OTCQX: FIRT), First Resource Bank (OTCQX: FRSB), Freedom Bank of Virginia (OTCQX: FDVA), Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: FRE; OTCQX: FSNUY), Heineken N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: HEIA; OTCQX: HEINY), Meritage Hospitality Group, Inc. (OTCQX: MHGU), ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI; OTCQX: PFSCF) and WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: WIR.U; OTCQX: WPTIF).

The 2016 OTCQX Best 50 companies are:

OTC Markets Group applied the following criteria to the 425 companies traded on OTCQX on December 31, 2015 to determine which companies would qualify for the 2016 OTCQX Best 50:

• traded on OTCQX on December 31, 2015
• closing share price of $0.25 or greater on December 31, 2015
• closing share price on December 31, 2015, greater than on December 31, 2014
• traded equal to or greater than $500,000 in dollar volume in 2015
• not a "penny stock" on December 31, 2015, as defined under SEC Rule 3a51-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
• traded at least one day in 2014
• member of the OTCQX Composite Index as of December 31, 2015.

For more detail on the 2016 OTCQX Best 50 ranking, visit http://www.otcmarkets.com/content/doc/2016-OTCQX-Best-50.pdf.

OTC Markets Group Inc. stock trades on the OTCQX Best Market, however the company removed itself from the ranking.  OTC Markets Group reserved discretion to omit companies from the ranking that no longer demonstrate the OTCQX market standards of transparency and wide distribution of news and financial disclosure.

The OTCQX Best 50 is for informational purposes only.  Neither OTC Markets Group Inc. nor its affiliates makes any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company.  Investors should undertake their own due diligence and carefully evaluate companies before investing. 

About OTC Markets Group Inc.
OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates Open, Transparent and Connected financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities.  Through our OTC Link® ATS, we directly link a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services for a wide spectrum of securities.  We organize these securities into markets to inform investors of opportunities and risks: the OTCQX® Best Market; the OTCQB® Venture Market; and the Pink® Open Market.  Our data-driven platform enables investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice at the best possible price and empowers a broad range of companies to improve the quality and availability of information for their investors.  To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient financial markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.
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Media Contact:
Saskia Sidenfaden, OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

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SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.