Trump’s Truth Social surges early in first day of trading on Nasdaq
Shares in the parent company of former President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social soared Tuesday morning in its first hours on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
After opening with a market valuation of nearly $7 billion, shares for Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT) surged by more than 40% in the first two hours of trading to about $70 per share, adding close to $3 billion in market value since the opening bell. Trading was so intense that it prompted a brief pause in trading of DJT to allow investors time to address the stock’s extreme volatility, but trading resumed shortly after.
SEE MORE: Truth Social will go public on Tuesday, and could net Trump billions
Trump’s social media company went public for the first time Tuesday morning after a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. was approved last week. The former president holds some 79 million shares in the newly combined company, giving him a 60% majority ownership and adding billions of dollars to his net worth.
The merger came just weeks after Trump was ordered to pay $454 million in a civil fraud judgment out of New York — something his lawyers said was “not possible under the circumstances presented.” However, an appeals court lowered the bond amount Monday, ruling that Trump must only come up with $175 million in 10 days in order to satisfy the judgment.
“We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash,” Trump said in a statement after the ruling.
SEE MORE: Trump wins lower bond in civil case; NY criminal trial set for April
However, it doesn’t appear the former president will be able to cash out on his recent gains anytime soon to help pay his New York civil fraud judgement or any legal bills surrounding his other pending civil and criminal cases. According to the Wall Street Journal, people involved in high-stakes deals like the one that brought Truth Social to the public market are typically prohibited from buying or borrowing against their shares for at least six months.
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