US, 19 April, 2024 Investors in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. enjoyed a rare win on Wednesday, as shares of Donald Trump’s social-media platform rallied on a day that the broader stock market fell.
The stock DJT, +25.72% ran up 15.6% to close Wednesday at $26.40, after tumbling 29.9% over the past two days, closing Tuesday at a three-month low. That marked the biggest one-day gain since it rose 16.1% on March 26, which was the day the stock started trading under the “DJT” ticker symbol upon the close of the merger with the blank-check company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
The stock’s rally came as the S&P 500 index SPX shed 0.6% en route to a fourth straight decline.
The Trump stock’s gain was just the fourth in 14 sessions. Through Tuesday, the stock had plunged 54.3% since the merger closed, and had plummeted 65.5% since it closed at a postmerger high of $66.22 on March 27.
The selloff has reduced the value of Trump’s current equity stake by more than $2 billion. Wednesday’s bounce gave him back about $280 million in paper gains.
The selloff had been so dramatic that even President Joe Biden took notice:
On Wednesday, Trump Media noted in a filing that it had added a list of frequently asked questions about the company to its website, referring to Trump throughout as president.
Among the FAQs: How much of Trump Media does Trump own?
The answer: “As of March 26, 2024, President Trump owned 78,750,000 (approximately 57.6%) of the outstanding shares of Trump Media. President Trump also has the contingent right to receive up to 36,000,000 Earnout Shares.”
Another question: What are “earnout shares”?
Investing Insights with Global Context Understand how today’s global business practices, market dynamics, economic policies and more impact you with real-time news and analysis from MarketWatch. SUBSCRIBE NOW: US $1 FOR 4 WEEKS MarketWatch on Multiple devices The merger agreement provided that some former Trump Media stockholders have the contingent right to receive up to 40,000,000 shares of Trump Media “based on the achievement of certain share price targets,” during the three-year period after the close of the merger.
Among the criteria is whether the volume-weighted average price of the stock is at least $12.50 for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading-day period during the period starting on March 25, 2024, and ending on the 18-month anniversary.
Another question: Are Trump’s shares subject to a lockup restriction, which means is he not currently allowed to sell them?
According to the website:
“President Trump is subject to a lockup that generally restricts the sale or transfer of his shares until the earliest of:
Six months after the closing of the business combination The date on which the closing price of Trump Media’s stock equals or exceeds $12 for any twenty trading days within any thirty trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the closing The date after the closing on which Trump Media consummates a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of Trump Media’s stockholders having the right to exchange their equity holdings in Trump Media for cash, securities or other property.”