In an IPO the total shares offered to the public is divided into lots. In an IPO the investors are not allowed to purchase shares of any quantity. They have to do it in lots. In addition, a minimum and maximum lot size is set beforehand. For eg. say Company A going public sets a lot size of 10 shares for each lot with a minimum and maximum lot purchase set at 1 and 10 respectively. This basically means that the minimum number of shares an investor can purchase is 10 and the maximum a 100. If an investor wants 65 shares he will not be able to do so. But he can purchase 6 lots which is the closest denomination. This is one of most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about IPOs