Shares of Trump Media & Technology, parent of Truth Social, surged early before falling lower Friday. President Joe Biden's performance in Thursday's debate with former President Donald Trump reportedly left many leading Democrats questioning whether Biden should bow out of the 2024 presidential race.
DJT stock ballooned more than 30% this week in the run-up to Thursday's CNN-hosted debate. On Friday, DJT shares angled around 12% higher before the market opened but then reversed lower, dropping 11% during market trade.
Trump's Debate Win Lifts S&P 500 Futures Amid Biden Exit Talk
Investors appeared early Friday to bet on the Trump stock, and the improved possibility of a second Trump White House win, as Biden's debate performance was widely panned by pundits. The 81-year-old current president struggled to complete sentences or maintain his train of thought throughout the debate.
CNN reported that following Thursday night's 90-minute spectacle, Democratic operatives wondered whether they need someone else at the top of the ticket to avoid an embarrassing defeat come November.
"There's a lot of people who watched this tonight and felt terribly for Joe Biden," former Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill said on MSNBC. "I don't know if things can be done to fix this."
Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been floated as a potential presidential candidate, said Thursday night on MSBC that Democrats should not turn away from Biden.
"You don't turn back because of one performance. What kind of party does that?" Newsom said.
DJT Cash Infusion
Last Friday, Trump Media announced it expects to receive around $70 million in proceeds from the cash exercise of warrants, according to regulatory filings.
The Donald Trump-backed company added late last week that if all warrants are exercised for cash, the company could receive approximately $247 million in proceeds. This comes as Trump Media has been hemorrhaging cash.
In April, Trump Media filed a "preliminary prospectus" with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer 21.49 million shares of common stock, issuable "upon the exercise of warrants."
Donald Trump: DJT Stock
Friday's premarket move, if it holds through the open, would put the Trump stock back above its 200-day moving average. Shares had fallen around 50% after a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies on May 30 in the court case around falsifying records to cover up hush money paid to a porn star.
In May, Trump Media & Technology announced another quarterly loss while revenue once again failed to hit $1 million.
Trump Media reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $12.1 million, with just over half of that due to one-time payments related to the March closing of its SPAC merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Revenue was just $770,500, the second straight quarter below $1 million.
Trump Media reported a GAAP loss of $327.6 million. That was largely due to $311 million in noncash expenses from converting promissory notes and eliminating previous liabilities.
At the time, the company said it believes it has "sufficient working capital to fund operations for the foreseeable future."
Trump Media advanced more than 16% on March 26, its first day trading under the DJT ticker, hitting a high of 79.38 intraday.
This followed Digital World Acquisition becoming Trump Media & Technology Group after successfully merging with Trump's tech and social-media platform on March 22. The SPAC company stock had rallied 35% on the day before the change to "DJT."
In 2024, DJT/DWAC has gained 109%. Trump has a nearly 65% stake in DJT.
Please follow Kit Norton on X @KitNorton for more coverage.
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