Market values can never be negative. Imagine a share of stock selling for –$20. This would mean that if you placed an order for 100 shares, you would get the stock along with a check for $2,000. How many shares do you want to buy? More generally, because of corporate and individual bankruptcy laws, net worth for a person or a corporation cannot be negative, implying that liabilities cannot exceed assets in market value. Market values can never be negative. Imagine a share of stock selling for –$20. This would mean that if you placed an order for 100 shares, you would get the stock along with a check for $2,000. How many shares do you want to buy? More generally, because of corporate and individual bankruptcy laws, net worth for a person or a corporation cannot be negative, implying that liabilities cannot exceed assets in market value.