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Stock in Donald Trump’s media company went on a rollercoaster ride on Tuesday, with officials briefly pausing trading due to volatility, according to a Nasdaq alert.
First, Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Trump’s Truth Social platform, seemed set to continue on its recent hot streak, which saw the share price increase by 18 percent on Monday and then another roughly 10 percent on Tuesday morning.
It was a shocking comeback after the stock hit an all-time low just three weeks ago, a rally which temporarily added an estimated $2bn to the value of the former president’s majority stake in the company.
However, around 2:20pm ET, the share price began to plunge dramatically, falling from $31.34 to a low of $26.61 just 25 minutes later. Officials instituted a five-minute pause in trading at 2:42 due to the volatility, according to MarketWatch.
As of Tuesday afternoon, about 15 minutes before the close of the market, shares stil hadn’t recovered, trading at just over $26, less than half of the company’s record price from late March after going public, but still a welcome improvement over when the firm hit just $12.15 a share on September 23.
The stock often trades as an unofficial poll on Trump, rather than a sober reflection on the business reality, according to experts. The company posted a more than $16m loss in the second quarter, with revenues of less than $1m.
“This stock has never traded on fundamentals, but is a barometer for both Trump and Trump’s followers,” Kristi Marvin, founder of SPACInsider, toldThe New York Times. “And in the same way people can now bet on Trump and the election on sites like Polymarket, people can also bet on Trump via the stock market.”
The resurgent share price, then, may be an indication that Trump supporters are feeling a renewed sense of confidence in the Republican.
According to The Independent’s poll tracker, Trump has cut into Kamala Harris’s projected three percent national lead by about half a percent over the last month, with the GOP candidate leading in four of seven swing states.
Investors may also be drafting off the fact that Trump chose not to sell of his shares, despite the expiration of a six-month lockup period.
The betting markets certainly think Trump is gaining an edge, with the former president topping Harris for the first time since the pair’s debate.
Shares in Trump Media have swung wildly over the last year, plunging nearly 20 percent on the first day of Trump’s hush money trial in April, then spiking after Trump’s successful debate win against Biden and surviving an assassination attempt.
