Shares in Donald Trump’s social media startup surged on Wednesday amid speculation that the former president isn't selling his stock in the company.
As of press time, there have been no SEC regulatory filings published on its investor relations site that would indicate a change in his ownership in Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG). As an investor with more than a tenth of the outstanding stock, the company is required by regulators to file a Form 4 informing the market should Trump sell part or all of his 114.75 million shares.
TMTG was last exchanging hands at a price of $13.72, more than 7% higher in the session. It was even up by more than 13% when it reached an intraday high of $14.48 a share.
This rebound likely proves only meager solace however as most have seen the value of their investment dwindle when fears of a Trump sale sent the stock crashing to record lows.
The company did not immediately respond to Fortune with a written statement, and Donald Trump left a request for comment unanswered.
Pressing need to meet potentially hundreds of millions in legal costs
It is generally known that Trump, who owns 59% of the outstanding shares, was subject to a six month lockup from the closing date of the merger on March 25.
But the fine print of the deal meant that Trump could sell earlier so long as the closing stock price did not fall below $12—equivalent to a market cap of about $2.28 billion—during 20 out of 30 trading days in a period 150 days from the closing.
With that requirement having already been met last week, Trump could have sold at the first opportunity by Friday. TMTG would then have had to two business days to report to the market, i.e. by Wednesday.
Since the company hasn’t reported any such transaction, it suggests Trump has at least initially kept his word, when he said earlier this month he would not be liquidating his stock despite his financial predicaments.
Trump badly needs cash to meet heavy fines and fees related to his various ongoing legal cases. One court ruled Trump must cough up some $450 million for losing a civil fraud case, but the fine is still subject to an ongoing legal appeal.
The liquidation of part of his TMTG stock was expected to cover these costs earlier in the year when the value of his stake peaked at some $9 billion in March. But the ongoing declines have instead forced Trump to merchandise everything from digital trading cards and bibles to sneakers and now silver coins to drum up cash.
