Plain and simple, a “Stock” is a share in the ownership of a company. A Stock represents a claim on the company's assets and earnings. As you acquire more stocks, your ownership stake in the company becomes greater. Some times different words like shares, equity, stocks etc. are used. All these words mean the same thing.

Why do companies issue stock?

The reason is that at some point every company needs to ""raise money"". To do this, companies can either borrow it from somebody or raise it by selling part of the company, which is known as issuing stock.

What makes Stockprices change?

Stock prices change every day because of market forces. By this we mean that stock prices change because of “supply and demand”. If more people want to buy a stock (demand) than sell it (supply), then the price moves up!
Conversely, if more people wanted to sell a stock than buy it, there would be greater supply than demand, and the price would fall. (Basics of economics!)

What are the different types of stocks?

There are two main types of stocks: Common Stock and Preffered Stock.

Recommended Resources on Financial Stock:

The Small Investor By Jim Gard
Where Gard clearly explains the profit potential and risks of loss associated with each type of investment, and helps small investors assess which strategy is the best match for their financial goals.

Useful links:

http://www.investopedia.com/categories/stocks.asp

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