Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of struggling social media platform Truth Social, is began its long-delayed journey as a public company at Tuesday’s opening bell under the ticker symbol “DJT.”
The stock surged about 56% at the open, to $78, and trading was briefly halted for volatility. Trump Media shares have since stabilized at around $70, marking a 40% increase from Monday’s close.
Wall Street is assigning Trump Media an eye-popping valuation of around $13 billion — a price tag that experts warn is untethered to reality.
The skyrocketing share price comes despite the fact that Trump Media is burning through cash; piling up losses; and its main product, Truth Social, is losing users.
“This is a very unusual situation. The stock is pretty much divorced from fundamentals,” said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, who has been studying initial public offerings (IPOs) for over 40 years.
Being on the wrong side of a court proceeding (or several) doesn’t seem to be much of a disincentive to Trump doing whatever he wants.
Not to mention if the foreign investors are using this to curry favour with the potential next POTUS, the ‘investment’ isn’t in the $DJT stock, it’s in what trump will do for them if elected. They won’t sue unless he loses.
“I’ll settle the bill when I get back to the White House.”