Norton, it is the norm for stockholders of companies that go into bankruptcy to lose all of their investment. In most cases, the common shares of the bankrupt company end up not getting anything -- in some cases, they do end up with some crumbs, but they are generally at the bottom of the list. When companies go through bankruptcy the banks that lend them money and bondholders have the first claim on any assets, and it's rare for there to be anything less after those creditors are satisfied.

If you're interested in investing in a company that's coming out of bankruptcy, it's almost always better to wait until they relist. Sometimes these companies then do great, since they have a new clean balance sheet that might help them compete better, but just as often they still have the same operational or competitive problems as they had before going bankrupt. It would be wise to read all their filings about the bankruptcy, including any agreements with the courts, both to understand what their position will be after they exit bankruptcy and to understand whether the holders of the original common stock are going to get anything from the reorganization.

That's just my opinion, of course -- I try to stay away from companies in or near bankruptcy, though I have considered a few in the past. And I think there are too many other great investments out there to take chances with the common stock of a bankrupt company (the bonds are another story -- bondholders can sometimes come out smelling like roses after a bankruptcy settlement and end up owning most of the company, one great example of this was Marty Whitman's Third Avenue, which placed a big bet on Kmart debt and ended up with a huge position in Sears Holdings that was worth multiples of their original investment, but I tend to think this kind of thing is best left to professionals who can really fight in the courts and have a good perspective on the process and experience with the documentation you have to review.)