      In another study16 it was shown that specialists trade extensivelyinside the quoted spread: only 40 percent of specialist buy trades, forexample, take place at the quoted bid; 37 percent occur at the quotedmidpoint; and 22 percent occur at above the quoted midpoint. The averagequoted spread prevailing whenever the specialist participates in a trade is22 cents, but specialist earn only 7 cents per trade in "spread revenue."Clearly, therefore, specialists trade extensively within the quoted spread.The study also finds (similar to the study by Madhaven and Sofianos) thatspecialist participation rate in total trade volume ranges from 42 percentfor the 251 least active stocks to 15 percent for the 251 most activelytraded stocks. This finding reaffirms the specialist's function as that ofa "liquidity supplier of last resort" whose presence is lacking in over thecounter markets.