The high volume return premium and changes in investor recognition

Utilising unique shareholding data for Australian equities we examine whether the high volume return premium ('HVRP') is associated with changes in investor recognition as has been posited in various empirical studies. We confirm the existence of the premium in Australia as stocks which experience unusually high volume over a day significantly outperform stocks which experience unusually low volume. The premium is strongest in the first two weeks following the extreme volume event and among stocks with recent poor return performance. However, we show the HVRP is more likely attributable to divergent opinions and to superior stock selection by institutional investors than to the changes in risk-sharing that underline the pricing-effects of Merton's (1987) investor recognition hypothesis. Specifically, the premium exists irrespective of increases or decreases in the breadth of ownership of a stock around the extreme volume event. Evidence that high volume stocks that attract more institutional (individual) investors but fewer individuals (institutions), show the highest (lowest) returns following the extreme volume event, suggests the premium may relate, in part, to superior stock selection or a private information advantage among institutional investors.