Trump Media and Technology shares spiked 14% on Election Day Tuesday after weeks of volatile trading as investors bet on a Trump win that would send the social media company’s business soaring.
The stock – which trades under the ticker DJT, the former president’s initials – has been viewed as an indicator of the Republican nominee’s chances of reclaiming the White House, rising and falling alongside his odds of a win.
The stock in midday trading on Thursday recently changed hands at $39.04 — up $4.69, or 13.7%.
Trump Media shares jumped in July after the former president was left bleeding from the ear in an assassination attempt during his Butler, Pa. rally.
The stock – along with shares of cryptocurrency firms – ticked up later that month after he spoke in favor of relaxing regulations on the crypto industry during the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tenn.
But the stock plunged to its lowest levels after the former president’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump Media, which is majority owned by the former president, has doubled so far this year, including Tuesday’s boost. The stock traded at $39.46 a share on Tuesday afternoon, up from $17.45 a share on Jan. 2.
As Vice President Kamala Harris gained momentum in the race, and the two candidates became locked in a dead heat, the stock suffered – slumping 33% over the past week.
“We are trading this like GameStop on steroids right now,” Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said Monday on CNBC.
“And you know, kudos to those that are trading it making money. But over the long term, the metrics don’t make any sense,” Woods said.
Trump Media has been the most-discussed stock on WallStreetBets, a Reddit page that played a major role in the 2021 GameStop short squeeze that significantly raised their stock prices and jumpstarted a period of highly volatile trading.
Trump Media has also experienced weeks of volatility. On Oct. 29, the stock experienced five separate halts within the first two hours of trading exactly one week before Election Day.
Nearly 16 million shares changed hands in the first 10 minutes of the trading day.
By 10:15 a.m., the company had surpassed its 30-day average trading volume of 35.1 million shares.
