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General guideline is a tighter (lower) spread is safer but profit potential is lower.
Tight spreads are most often displayed by stable value stock companies and pink sheet scams with extreme amounts in a float.
Wide spreads (higher) usually indicates high volatility which affords the best chance for profits but risks are very high.
High volatility can be upward or downward for prices calling for extra caution.
On pink sheet scams, PLNI is a good example. Spread is in thousandths of a penny with very high volume; in the millions per day. Do not consider one of these as prices will never decrease nor increase a worthwhile amount. These, you will become a stuck-holder.
ALMI is an interesting stock. Trading is around a share price of 1.85 to 1.90 per, currently. Spread on ALMI is often as much as a nickel. Volatile yet a safe stock. Lot of people want to buy ALMI but only a few of us are holding and we will not sell. This creates a small pocket of volatility players working the same shares, over and over.
GHLT is a perfect example of a scam with a very wide spread, sometimes 10 cents, 20 cents. Volatility is extreme. Lots of people lost millions of dollars (cumulative) on GHLT over the past couple of weeks.
In general, a small spread is a safe stock and a wide spread is a dangerous stock. This does mean you will profit or lose. Spread is part of a larger research effort by traders and must be played according to overall research.
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