Level II Quotation Help Part I

Level II is a function of the NASDAQ market. NASDAQ is an interdealer market represented by over 600 securities dealers trading more than 15,000 different issues. These dealers are called market makers (MMs). Unlike the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASDAQ market does not operate as an auction market. Instead, market makers are expected to compete against each other to post the best quotes (best bid/ask prices).
A NASDAQ level II quote shows all the bid offers, ask offers, size of each offer (size of the market), and the market makers making the offers in real time. These quotes are available from the Nasdaq Advertisement Quotation Dissemination Service (NQDS). The size of the market is simply the number of shares the market maker is prepared to fill at that price. Since about 1985 the average person has had access to level II quotes by way of the Small Order Execution System (SOES) of the NASDAQ. Non-professional users can get level II quotes for about $50 per month.
List of market Makers that you see on level II:
ABLE - Natexis Bleichroeder Inc.
ABNA - ABN Amro Incorporated
ADAM - Canaccord Adams Inc.
AGED - A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.
ALPS - Alpine Securities Corporation
ANDZ - Assent LLC
AUTO - Automated Trading Desk Financial Services, LLC
AVON - Avondale Partners, LLC
BARD - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated
BBNT - Scott & Stringfellow, Inc.
BERN - Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC
BEST - Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.
BKST - Brookstreet Securities Corporation
BMOC - Harris Nesbitt Corp.
BMUR - Brean Murray, Carret & Co., LLC.
BNCH - The Benchmark Company, LLC
BOFA - Banc of America Securities LLC
BSIC - Basic Investors Inc.
BUCK - The Buckingham Research Group Incorporated
BWNT - First American Capital and Trading Corporation
CANT - Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
CDRG - Citadel Derivatives Group LLC
CEUT - C.E. Unterberg, Towbin (A California Limited Partnership)
CHDN - Chardan Capital Markets LLC
CHLM - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC
CIBC - CIBC World Markets Corp.
COWN - Cowen and Company, LLC
CRIS - Caris & Company, Inc.
CRTC - CRT Capital Group LLC
CWCO - Crowell, Weedon & Co.
DADA - D.A. Davidson & Co.
DAVA - Davenport & Company LLC
DBAB - Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
DOMS - Domestic Securities, Inc.
DOTC - Dougherty & Company LLC
DRCO - Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC
EFGI - Empire Financial Group, Inc.
EKNS - EKN Financial Services Inc.
ETRD - E*Trade Capital Markets LLC
FACT - First Albany Capital Inc.
FAGI - Fagenson & Co., Inc.
FANA - First Analysis Securities Corporation
FBCO - Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
FBRC - Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc.
FPKI - Fox-Pitt, Kelton Incorporated
FRAN - Wm. V. Frankel & Co., Incorporated
FSWC - First Southwest Company
GARC - ICAP Corporates LLC
GNLN - Gunnallen Financial, Inc.
GROW - Pacific Growth Equities, LLC
GSCO - Goldman, Sachs & Co.
HAMR - W.R. Hambrecht + Co., LLC
HDLY - J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, Inc.
HDSN - Hudson Securities, Inc.
HILL - Hill Thompson Magid and Co., Inc.
HRNB - Harris Nesbitt Corp.
HSBC - HSBC Securities, Inc.
JANY - Janney Montgomery Scott Inc.
JEFF - Jefferies & Company, Inc.
JGUN - Joseph Gunnar & Co. LLC
JPMS - J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.
JPTC - J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C.
JRCO - Johnson Rice & Company L.L.C.
JSLP - Joseph Stevens & Company, Inc.
JSSF - JMP Securities LLC
KBRO - Kaufman Bros., L.P.
KBWI - Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.
KING - C. L. King & Associates, Inc.
LAZA - Lazard Capital Markets, LLC
LEER - Leerink Swann & Company
LEHM - Lehman Brothers Inc.
LYON - Calyon Securities (USA) Inc.
MADF - Bernard L. Madoff
MAXM - Maxim Group LLC
MDLD - McDonald Investments Inc.
MERI - Merriman Curhan Ford & Co.
MJSK - Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard Inc.
MLCO - Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner
MOKE - Morgan, Keegan & Company, Inc.
MSCO - Morgan Stanley & Co., Incorporated
MURF - Murphy & Durieu
MWRE - FTN Midwest Securities Corp.
NATY - Natcity Investments, Inc.
NEED - Needham & Company, LLC
NFSC - National Financial Services LLC
NITE - Knight Equity Markets, L.P.
OGRU - Oscar Gruss & Son, Incorporated
OPCO - Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.
PACS - Pacific Crest Securities Inc.
PERT - Pershing LLC
PIPR - Piper Jaffray & Co.
PRUS - Prudential Equity Group, Inc.
PUNK - Punk, Ziegel & Company, L.P.
RAJA - Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
RBCM - RBC Capital Markets Corporation
RHCO - SunTrust Capital Markets, Inc.
RILY - B. Riley And Co. Inc.
RODM - Rodman & Renshaw, LLC
ROTH - Roth Capital Partners, LLC
RYAN - Ryan, Beck & Co., LLC
SALI - Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.
SBSH - Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
SDLR - Sandler, O Neill & Partners, L.P.
SEAB - Seaboard Securities, Inc.
SIMM - Simmons & Company International
SKYC - Sky Capital LLC
SMHI - Sanders Morris Harris Inc.
SNCM - Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
SOCO - Capital One Southcoast, Inc
SPHN - Stephens Inc.
STCS - First American Capital and Trading Corporation
STFG - Stanford Group Company
SUSQ - Susquehanna Capital Group
TASL - Tradition Asiel Securities Inc.
TDCM - TD Waterhouse Capital Markets, Inc.
TDCO - Thompson Davis & Co., Inc.
THNK - ThinkEquity Partners LLC
TMBR - Timber Hill LLC
TRLN - Tradelink Securities, LLC
TWPT - Thomas Weisel Partners LLC
UBSS - UBS Securities LLC
VFIN - Vfinance Investments, Inc
VNDM - Vandham Securities Corp.
WBLR - William Blair & Company L.L.C.
WCHV - Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC
WEDB - Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc.
WEED - Weeden & Co