One day after the “lockup” limitations that had stopped former President Donald Trump and other early investors from selling their shares of Trump Media, which prevented them from becoming majority owners, expired, the company’s shares plunged to a new 52-week low, closing down 7.82% at $13.55 per share.
Friday’s trading volume was higher than usual, with close to 20 million shares exchanged before the closing bell. Because of the delayed settlement caused by increased trading volume, it took longer to determine the closing price for DJT.
However, it will probably take a few days before public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission make it clear if this activity is just the result of more retail investors trading the stock than usual or if early investors are selling shares now that the lockup period is over.
First implemented in March after Trump Media went public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., also known as DWAC, a blank-check company, the lockup agreement was put into place.
In regulatory filings, the business has stated that it is possible for the company’s stock, which is traded under the symbol “DJT,” to see significant sales following the conclusion of the lockup.
However, even if insiders weren’t the ones selling, the business has stated that DJT’s stock price may drop if the markets believed a sell-off was taking place.
Trump declared last week that he would not sell his shares when the limitations were relaxed. As of Friday’s closing, his holding in Trump Media, which amounted to 114,750,000 shares, was valued at $1.5 billion.
At a news conference in California on September 13, he declared, “I have absolutely no intention of selling.”
The stock shot up once the Republican nominee was announced, reaching a high of 25% before ending at a gain of more than 11%. But those gains were obliterated by DJT’s slide this week.
At $13.55 per share, Trump Media ended Friday at its lowest closing level since going public on the Nasdaq in March. Shares have dropped more than 20% since the week’s opening because to the decline.
The share price fell below $13.50, a level not seen since July 2023, when the stock was still DWAC, soon after 10 a.m. ET, marking its intraday low.
The sell-off on Friday is a continuation of DJT’s months-long decline, during which the company has lost almost 65% of its value from its highest point in July, when Trump narrowly avoided being assassinated during a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
