Donald Trump’s social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, saw its stock price surge early Tuesday before reversing course. The Nasdaq halted trading of the stock three times around 3 p.m. EST. The move comes after shares of the company, which trades under the ticker symbol DJT, cratered last week following a 120% surge in October.
This volatility comes ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election, which polls show is a dead heat between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. DJT shares surged more than 14% on Tuesday before paring those gains and dropping 1.2% to $33.94. On Monday, the stock rallied 12.4%.
Last week, DJT shares dropped 13.5% to $30.56 on Friday, after sinking 11.7% to $35.34 on Thursday. Investors often view the Trump stock as a sentiment indicator toward the former president and the strength of his current candidacy. DJT shares hit a short-term high of $46.27 on July 15 following an assassination attempt against Trump.
His lead in the polls peaked soon after, following President Joe Biden’s exit from the 2024 race. In September, after a debate between Trump and Harris, DJT shares sank, signaling investor sentiment held that Trump underperformed expectations. Shares hit a low of $11.75 on Sept.
24 but had roared back 200% since then. However, now DJT is sinking once more.
Trump media stock volatility continues
Trump’s odds of victory on Tuesday appeared to be improving in recent weeks even as national polls show the two candidates in a statistical tie. However, the latest CNN poll shows Harris with a significant lead over Trump in the key swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin. In Pennsylvania, the biggest swing state, the two are still neck and neck.
The Donald Trump stock is among those tracked by the subreddit investor group r/WallStreetBets. Website ApeWisdom shows DJT stock was the top-trending issue on r/WallStreetBets over the weekend and on Monday. The value of DJT stock is closely tied to the Donald Trump brand.
Truth Social launched after Twitter, now called X, shut down Trump’s account following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The former president holds a 65% stake in Trump Media, worth several billion dollars based on the current stock price.
Trump made his return to X on Aug. 12 via a conversation with Elon Musk. The former president had previously sworn he would not return to X and would remain on Truth Social.
The New York Post reported that “people inside the Trump camp have been speculating for weeks now that Truth Social will at some point get subsumed by Musk and X.”
Trump Media jumped more than 16% on March 26, its first day trading under the DJT ticker, hitting an intraday high of $79.38. This followed Digital World Acquisition becoming Trump Media & Technology Group after successfully merging with Trump’s tech and social media platform on March 22. DJT shares have advanced more than 96% in 2024 but remain about 31% below their price at the time of conversion.
