Shares in Trump Media fall to all-time low on first day former president is entitled to sell his holdings in social media company
Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group sank to their lowest level ever on Friday, the first trading day that largest shareholder Donald Trump is free to sell his shares.
The shares sank 7.8 percent to $13.55 (£10.17) by the close of trading on Friday, valuing the company at less than $3bn.
Former president Trump owns more than half of the company behind his Truth Social social media platform, with nearly 115 million shares, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Until Friday Trump and other executives were barred from selling their shares under standard post-IPO lock-up agreements.
High profile
Trump’s stake in the company was worth about $1.6bn as of Friday’s close, on paper.
But it is usually against the interests of large shareholders to try to sell large stakes in a company, as it risks spurring a wider selloff and devaluing their own holdings.
Stock in Trump Media has fluctuated widely, usually based on news reports and public perceptions of Trump rather than on the company’s business, which is focused on the Truth Social platform.
The stock surged in value following an assassination attempt on Trump in July, when public attention focused on the candidate and he acquired high-profile endorsements from public figures including tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Most recently the shares rose 12 percent earlier this month when Trump said he would not sell his shares once the lock-up period ended, and sank more than 10 percent following a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The shares are currently worth far less than the period following its Nasdaq debut in March, when the stock hit a high of $79.38.
Volatility
On 28 August the shares dropped below $20 for the first time to $19.38 per share.
The large market capitalisation of Trump Media is at odds with its relatively small sales of about $770,500 in the first quarter.
Trump created Truth Social after being temporarily banned from Twitter, YouTube and other services in 2021.
The service has about 2 million users, although figures vary according to different sources.
Trump refrained from using X even after being reinstated, in favor of posting messages on Truth Social, but in August he posted a series of messages ahead of a live interview conducted by X owner Musk.
