A few days after majority owner Donald Trump and other corporate executives received approval to begin selling their holdings in the Truth Social operator, shares of Trump Media plummeted to their lowest level since 2021.
In a wild trading day, the stock—which trades as DJT on the Nasdaq—closed more than 10% down, finishing at $12.15 per share and marking the company’s sixth day in a row of decreases.
Since Trump Media’s stock price soared during its first public offering (IPO) in late March, it has dropped by about 85%.
The stock fell to its lowest point since October 2021, when it was announced that Digital World Acquisition Corp., a blank check company, was going to combine with Trump Media, which was then privately held.
The deal’s announcement caused DWAC’s stock to skyrocket by more than 350%. In the years that followed, the price fell, but in early 2024 it rose once again as investors anticipated the conclusion of the merger with Trump Media.
After surpassing $10 billion in March, the company’s market value is currently less than $2.5 billion. Nearly 57% of the company’s outstanding shares are owned by Trump; this ownership holding is still valued at around $1.4 billion.
Lockup agreements prevented Trump and other firm insiders from selling their shares in the first several months following Trump Media’s IPO. These limitations ended on Thursday at the closing bell.
The trade volume increased dramatically once the lockout was freed. Nearly 22 million shares were traded on Friday, greatly above the 30-day average volume of 8.3 million shares, which was exceeded by more than 14 million shares on Thursday.
On Monday, traders exchanged around 18.3 million shares. When asked about the recent rise of the stock, a Trump Media representative released a statement supporting the company’s operations.
The statement said, “Trump Media launched an in-app streaming platform on our custom-built content delivery network and ended last quarter with $344 million in cash and cash equivalents and zero debt.” With further innovations in the works, TMTG is upbeat about its expansion plan.
Trump, who attracts a lot of Truth Social users and small investors, announced earlier in September that he would not be selling his shares. The stock price rose sharply following his comments.
No comparable pledges have been made by other early investors. ARC Global, a sponsor of the DWAC, and United Atlantic Ventures, a company run by two former competitors on Trump’s reality program “The Apprentice,” are among them.
In a regulatory filing made in early September, Trump Media said that ARC and UAV had roughly 11% of the outstanding shares of DJT. However, ARC could now possess a larger share after a Delaware judge decided on September 16 that Trump Media violated a contract with the sponsor and should have received more shares.
