Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. shares rose 16% on Wednesday, recouping some of the billions of dollars in market value they lost in the three weeks since their debut as a public company.
Former President Donald Trump’s media company closed at $26.40, up from Tuesday’s closing price of $22.84. It was its best trading day after a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. The boost came as more than 13 million shares changed hands, while warrants tied to the company rose 30% to $11.45.
The fluctuations reinforce a trend for companies using special acquisition companies to go public, with a growing number of so-called de-SPACs quickly turning red-hot launches into a downward spiral. Despite Wednesday’s rebound, the stock is still down about $5.4 billion from its peak last month, with the value of Trump’s position falling to $2.1 billion.
As part of the structure of the deal, insiders at Trump Media – which includes the former president – are banned from selling shares until September. However, the board could waive sales restrictions, which would allow many of the largest shareholders to cash out once a filing is deemed effective by U.S. regulators.
On Tuesday, Trump Media announced that it had completed the research phase of its new live TV streaming platform. The underlying operations have largely been troubled since its inception, with Trump Media losing more than $50 million last year while generating just $4.1 million in revenue, according to regulatory filings.
With shares up 51% this year, the stock’s volatility has made trading difficult for Wall Street professionals. It is one of the ones on the market most expensive shortswith financing costs topping 700 percent earlier this month and the stock’s underlying options prompting former “bond king” Bill Gross to go for it sell the expensive derivatives instead of a direct bet on the stock.
Trump faces four criminal charges as he pushes to return to the White House. The first criminal trial began Monday in Manhattan, where he is accused of falsifying business records to hide a hush-money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election. He described the case as one of outrage and persecution.