🚨Donald Trump’s Truth Social is officially public and trading under the ticker $DJT pic.twitter.com/2wS8C64wFSShares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Trump’s Truth Social platform, skyrocketed nearly 50 percent during its market debut on Tuesday, triggering a trading pause.
Shares of the company, which has the ticker symbol "DJT," opened at $49.95 and quickly jumped to $72 just before 10:30 a.m. EST.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 26, 2024
Trump Media had a market value of about $6.8 billion before trading opened.
The Hill reports:Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Trump’s Truth Social platform, went public Tuesday morning after a years-long effort to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Shares of the company were up 46 percent shortly before 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuedsday, rising to roughly $72 from an opening price of $49.95 after trading was briefly halted.
Shareholders in the SPAC, Digital World Acquisition Corp., approved the merger Friday, teeing up the Truth Social parent’s debut on the stock market and potentially securing Trump a multibillion-dollar windfall.
Former President Donald Trump, who owns approximately 58 percent of Trump Media & Technology Group, became one of the world's top 500 richest men after the merger. According to a report from Business Insider, Trump now has a total net worth of approximately $6.5 billion.
Some have speculated that it could become a "meme stock," like when Game Stop and AMC shares went viral, and many people purchasing may be doing so simply because they support Trump or are enjoying the novelty of it.
"DJT has all the makings of a meme stock, given the Trump news factor," Ben Emons, senior portfolio manager and head of fixed income at NewEdge Wealth LLC, said in a Tuesday research note, according to a report from CBS News. "For global macro investors, DJT will be a proxy for how markets price Trump 2.0 policies."
Trump is currently barred from selling his shares for six months. However, CBS reports, "the company's board — comprised of Trump associates such as Kash Patel, an official during the Trump administration; and son, Donald Trump Jr. — could waive or shorten the lock-up period, experts said."
"If he goes ahead [with selling], it could sink DJT by at least 15% to 40% based on option pricing," Emons predicted.
