Does NYSE listing affect firm visibility?

Corporate managers often cite improved firm visibility as a motive for list ing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). We use three proxies to test thi s motive: the number of analysts following a firm, the number of institutio nal shareholders, and the number of shares held by institutions. We compare visibility changes over successive six-month periods for a sample of firms that listed on the NYSE and find that the changes in the post-listing peri od are less than the changes for the two Pre-listing periods. Futher tests suggest that increased visibility for a firm is primarily associated firm i s primarily associated with changes in market capitalization, not with list ing itself.