Avishek Das | LightRocket | Getty Images
Trump Media The company behind Truth Social is trying to pull itself out of a downward spiral, with its shares beginning to rise on Tuesday, at the same time that company insiders, including largest shareholder Donald Trump, got permission to begin selling their own stock.
DJT shares rose 7% in heavy trading early in the day. By the hour before the close, shares were up more than 4%.
The increase came after six consecutive trading days in the red, with Trump Media shares falling more than 32%.
Trump Media (DJT) Stock Price
The plunge was just the latest negative blow in a months-long slump for Trump Media, which completed its merger with a special acquisition company and went public in late March.
Trump Media’s shares have fallen more than 84% since soaring to an intraday high of $79.38 per share when they listed on the Nasdaq.
On Monday, the company’s shares fell to their lowest since before October 2021, when news of a planned merger between Trump Media and SPAC Digital World Acquisition Corp. was first made public.
Trump currently owns about 57% of the company’s outstanding shares, and while the value of his stake has fallen by billions of dollars in recent months, it was still worth about $1.5 billion as of Tuesday.
The Republican presidential candidate and other early investors in the company were barred from selling their shares until lock-up agreements expired, which they did at the close of trading on Thursday.
The expiration of the lockup has sparked speculation that early investors may seek to sell their shares in the company, as its only product, Truth Social, has generated only modest revenue in recent quarters.
Trump has vowed not to sell his holdings.
But Trump Media warned that other early investors were planning to cash out once the lockup period expired.
It was unclear as of Tuesday morning whether any previously shuttered companies had attempted to sell after Thursday, but in most cases such sales would be subject to disclosure requirements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This is an evolving story, please check back for updates.