Trump Media Stock Hits a Fresh Low

It sank below the $18 mark for first time on Tuesday
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 21, 2024 8:41 AM CDT
Updated Sep 4, 2024 10:00 AM CDT
Trump Media Stock Takes a Beating
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attends an event on combating antisemitism at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J.   (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
UPDATE Sep 4, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

Trump Media stock hit a new low on Tuesday, falling below the $18-per-share mark for the first time. Quartz reports the stock price went as low at $17.72 during trading but closed at $18.08. That's a drop of more than 75% from the company's March 26 Nasdaq debut, reports CNBC. The decline continued early Wednesday, with the stock trading at $17.51 as of this writing. All eyes will be on the stock later in the month, with Donald Trump's lockup period set to expire as early as Sept. 20. Trump owns nearly 59% of the company's shares and can begin to sell them at that time.

Aug 21, 2024 8:41 AM CDT

Shares of Trump Media hit a record low on Tuesday, closing down nearly 4% at $21.42. It marked the eighth session in a row of losses for the stock, which hit a high of $79.38 on March 26 when the firm merged with Digital World Acquisition Corp. and began trading on the Nasdaq as DJT, reports CNBC. Trump Media's primary asset is the Truth Social app, and the recent decline follows former President Trump's return to posting on X after a nearly year-long break. Shares have lost nearly half their value since they spiked to $40.58 in the first session after the July attempt on Trump's life.

Lou Basenese, head of MDB Capital, shares his take with Reuters: The stock has "always traded in line with [Trump's] odds of winning or losing, and that's what we're seeing now that the race is tight and the probability of him winning has narrowed. And I think it's hitting record lows also because you're coming up against the insider lockup." The six-month insider lockup period Basenese referenced expires in September, at which time Trump will be able to start cashing out part or all of his almost 60% stake in the company.

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As for Trump's smattering of posts on X, the Los Angeles Times notes that Trump isn't contractually obligated to exclusively use Truth Social. While his licensing agreement with DJT does state that he must post personal social media messages on Truth Social six hours before posting them elsewhere, he has an exception for "politically related" messages, which can appear anywhere he likes. As for determining which posts qualify as politically related, that is entirely up to Trump to decide, and Trump Media says it "lacks any meaningful remedy" should it disagree with Trump's take. (More Trump Media and Technology Group stories.)

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