Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social (DJT), ended its first day of trading up 16% on the Nasdaq market, after rising more than 50% early on.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, Truth Social's parent company, ended the day at just under $58 under the ticker symbol “DJT,” President Trump's initials.
Last week, the company merged with special purpose vehicle Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC) in a deal approved by shareholders. Before the merger, DWAC had been listed since 2021.
Trump founded Truth Social after being banned from major social media apps such as Facebook and Twitter (platform now known as X) following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. . Trump has since returned to the platform.
President Trump will retain about 60% of Truth Social, which he owns about 79 million shares. Based on current trading levels, this equates to a valuation of more than $5 billion.
The merger addresses campaign finance shortfalls as the former president faces a $454 million fraud fine and prepares for a 2024 presidential rematch against current commander-in-chief Joe Biden. It was carried out while
But Trump will have to wait until he cashes out his stock.
Under the terms of the merger, shareholders have a six-month lock-up period before they can sell or transfer their shares. The only exception is if the company's board of directors votes to take a special disposition.
Trump Media lost $49 million in the first nine months of last year and brought in $3.4 million in revenue, according to Digital World's SEC filings.
As Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman pointed out, short interest in DWAC stock (bets that the stock price will fall rather than rise) was about 11% of outstanding shares. Of note is that the average short interest of listed companies is in the range of 3% to 4%.
alexandra canal I'm a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, Please email alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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