Good start on the stock market for Donald Trump's social network

Open in full screen mode

Screens show the evolution of the action of Trump Media and Technology Group from former US President Donald Trump to first day of its stock market listing.

Agence France-Presse

Former US President Donald Trump's media company got off to a flying start on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange for its first day of trading under the initials DJT, those of the future Republican candidate for the election. presidential election.

DJT shares, owned by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which oversees the social network Truth Social, rose 16.10% at US$57.99, a closing price however much lower than the level reached during the session.

I love Truth Social, I love the truth, Donald Trump launched Tuesday on his network created in 2022, welcoming the success of stocks on the NASDAQ.

Shortly after the opening of Wall Street, the listing of the title DJT, in high demand, even had to be suspended for a few minutes before resuming.

On Friday, a general meeting of the shell company – also called SPAC – Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a listed vehicle intended to carry another company, voted in favor of a merger with TMTG, the company of M . Trump.

LoadingSix people still missing, says Maryland governor

Six people still missing, says Maryland governor

ELSEWHERE ON INFO: Six people still missing, says Maryland governorLoadingSix people are still missing , says the governor of Maryland

Six people still missing, says Maryland governor

ELSE ON NEWS: Six people still missing, says Maryland governor

Donald Trump is the main shareholder of TMTG, who will control tens of millions of shares in the new listed company.

According to several estimates, its stake would be valued on paper at around 4.5 billion US dollars, given the price of the stock.

Several analysts s& #x27;however, questioned the solidity of this valuation.

Trump Media only generated US$3.4 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2023, according to information collected by CNN, while its losses amounted to $49 million.

By comparison, the social network Reddit (+8.88% to US$65.11), which has also just gone public on Wall Street, reached more than 9 billion US dollars in valuation on Tuesday while its turnover represents more than 800 million dollars.

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist for Interactive Brokers (IBKR), believes that stock market enthusiasm for these new values ​​resembles the movement that affected meme stocks< em>, viral values ​​which arouse speculation among stock marketers.

In the case of DJT, political motivations drive the title, a underlined the analyst in a note.

It is not absurd to think that a large number of followers of Donald Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement are voting for their favorite candidate with their wallets.

On paper in any case, this IPO offers a breath of fresh air to Donald Trump, whose financial health is precarious and who is being pursued by the courts on several fronts.< /p>

However, due to the agreement between TMTG and DWAC, a lock-up period (lock-up) of six months remains, during which existing shareholders cannot sell their securities on the market.

New York justice eased the financial pressure on Monday on the Republican presidential candidate by reducing his bail in a civil proceeding to US$175 million, but she refused to further delay his historic criminal trial, which begins April 15.