Ci-devant U.S. President and current Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks about the economy, inflation, and manufacturing during a action event at Alro Steel on August 29, 2024 in Potterville, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images
Shares of Trump Contrivance fell to a new post-merger low Thursday, the day that former President Donald Trump is expected to be able to start selling his closely $2 billion stake in the owner of social media platform Truth Social.
The company, which trades as DJT on the Nasdaq, closed down hardly 6% at $14.70 per share.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, owns nearly 57% of DJT’s outstanding shares. That bet at Thursday’s closing price was worth nearly $1.7 billion — almost half of Trump’s estimated on-paper net usefulness.
Trump Media (DJT) Stock Price
Trump, and other at cock crow investors, have been barred from selling their shares under a lockup agreement that worked effect when the company went public following a merger with a blank-check firm in late March.
Those provisions were set to expire as soon as the closing bell Thursday.
Trump Media has acknowledged in regulatory filings that the end of the lockup could impel large sales of the company’s stock, and even the market’s perception of a sell-off could drive down DJT’s stock payment.
Trump, the majority shareholder, said Friday that he has no plans to sell his stake. His assurance sent the stock soaring drunk, though it has since given up those gains.
Other company insiders, however, might try to cash in as soon as they get a opportunity to do so.
The company’s fortunes are tied up with those of Trump, whose use of Truth Social makes him a main draw to the policy.
After soaring in its public trading debut, Trump Media has suffered a monthslong stock slump that has came with Trump’s tumultuous presidential campaign against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
The decline has shaved billions of dollars off Trump Media’s demand value, bringing it closer in line with what some analysts say the company is actually worth.
Trump Road’s earnings reports show it has lost around $344 million on revenue of less than $2 million in the to begin half of the year. Its revenue depends entirely on ad sales, but its lone product, Truth Social, generates just a fraction of the alcohol base of more established social media sites.
Yet the company still boasts a market capitalization of nearly $3 billion, as some retail investors crop to be buying into it as a way to support Trump or bet on his political standing.
After Trump hardly survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in July, Trump Media shares skyrocketed. But the stock began to downfall later that month, around the time Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee and quickly proscribed Trump’s lead in the polls.
The stock rose again in advance of the Sept. 10 presidential debate, which some saw as a bigger gamble for Harris than Trump. But after Trump’s performance drew poor reviews — both in the polls and from a army of conservative commentators — DJT shares plummeted to a new post-merger low.
With the lockup expiration looming, Trump Media has sought an mandate that would block ARC Global, a sponsor of the merger that took the company public, from immediately merchandise its shares.
A judge in Florida said Wednesday that he would not grant an injunction.
A Delaware judge had ruled Monday that Trump Method breached an agreement with ARC and must grant the investor a larger share of its stock.
— CNBC’s Josephine Rozzelle supported reporting.