19

How can I can convert ticker symbols (which include information on the exchange) to an International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) (which contains no information on the exchange)?

Also I am interested in the other way round — given an ISIN and a market identification code (MIC) how can I determine the ticker symbol?

Any databases around?

Flux
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Karsten W.
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3 Answers3

20

It is possible to make a REST API call to OpenFIGI providing the ISIN to get the ticker in the response. Registration is required to get an API key from OpenFIGI.

Python code for getting ticker for ISIN=US4592001014:

import requests

url = 'https://api.openfigi.com/v3/mapping'
headers = {'Content-Type':'text/json', 'X-OPENFIGI-APIKEY':'myKey' }
payload = '[{"idType":"ID_ISIN","idValue":"US4592001014"}]'


r = requests.post(url, headers=headers, data=payload)

For those who are not familiar with Python/coding, it's possible to perform the same request with PostMan. Just go to PostMan website and complete the request as follows (example image at the end):

  • Request type: POST
  • In the "Headers" label add: X-OPENFIGI-APIKEY : myKey (no description needed)
  • In the "Body" label select raw and on the right JSON and fill de body in this way (you can find all the request parameters inside The reference for version v3)
[{
    "idType": "ID_ISIN",
    "idValue": "US4592001014"
}]
  • At the end the body returned by the response will be something similar to
[
    {
        "data": [
            {
                "figi": "BBG000BLNNH6",
                "name": "INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP",
                "ticker": "IBM",
                "exchCode": "US",
                "compositeFIGI": "BBG000BLNNH6",
                "securityType": "Common Stock",
                "marketSector": "Equity",
                "shareClassFIGI": "BBG001S5S399",
                "securityType2": "Common Stock",
                "securityDescription": "IBM"
            },
            {
                "figi": "BBG000BLNNV0",
                "name": "INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP",
                "ticker": "IBM",
                "exchCode": "UA",
                "compositeFIGI": "BBG000BLNNH6",
                "securityType": "Common Stock",
                "marketSector": "Equity",
                "shareClassFIGI": "BBG001S5S399",
                "securityType2": "Common Stock",
                "securityDescription": "IBM"
            },

        ...

    ]
}



]

Example of Postman request-response

Cloudy
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John Wood
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6

There is no simple way to convert an ISIN into a stock ticker symbol. The only way to even attempt to do so is to map the ISIN to a CUSIP or SEDOL or other national identifier and then map that identifier to a stock ticker symbol.

Indian Rediff
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1

How can I can convert ticker symbols ... to an International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) ... ?

As @Indian Rediff said in this answer, it is not possible in general to convert or map stock ticker symbols to ISIN's or vice versa using a number of rules or a mathematical function.

However, you can find out the ISIN for a stock by searching for its ticker symbol or name on this web page on Stock Market MBA. After you make such a search, locate the row that appears to show the characteristics of the security you are looking for and click on the "Analyze" option under the "Actions" column. This will open up a new page including an "Intro" tab whose contents would include the ISIN of the security along with its many other characteristics.

... given an ISIN and a market identification code (MIC) how can I determine the ticker symbol?

You can find out the ticker symbols and exchanges associated with a stock by looking up the security's ISIN on this web page on Stock Market MBA again.

These features on the mentioned web site are not only free (at least for now) but also has extensive international coverage based on the data from OpenFIGI which is also mentioned in this answer by @John Wood.

Update (12 October 2022)

While one still can look up an ISIN on Stock Market MBA, it appears it is no longer possible to look up the ticker symbol of a stock and get the ISIN on the same site, only the SEDOL.

Alper
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