The monthslong Trump Media stock slide continued Wednesday, as shares of the company majority-owned by former President Donald Trump fell below $20 for the first time since the Truth Social owner went public in March of this year.
The stock price of DJT has dropped around 75% from its intraday high on March 26, the day the company debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The stock ended Wednesday down more than 4%, recovering somewhat and putting it above $20.
Trump Media has also lost more than half its value since its recent surge on July 15, the first trading day after the Republican presidential nominee narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
A Trump Media spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the stock’s latest dive.
Trump owns nearly 59% of Trump Media’s stock. Even after losing much of its value, Trump’s stake at Wednesday’s stock price is still worth more than $2.2 billion — more than half of his on-paper net worth, according to Forbes.
Trump, and other company executives and insiders, are bound by lock-up agreements that have so far barred them from cashing in on their shares.
But the lock-ups are set to expire as soon as Sept. 20, at which point Trump may choose to start selling his shares.
Trump has given no indication that he plans to cash out once he is able to do so. But speculation has flared that he might, especially as Trump Media’s latest earnings reports show it losing millions of dollars and generating little revenue.
If he does sell — or if he even appears likely to — investors could lose confidence in Trump Media, a situation the company’s own regulatory filings have acknowledged.
Similar to other meme stocks, investing in Trump Media has come to be seen as a way for Trump’s supporters to back him and bet on his chances of beating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
But the company has noted that its fledgling social media platform, Truth Social, depends at least partly on Trump’s enduring popularity and reputation. Trump, who holds the most popular Truth Social account, has recently started posting more on X, his former messaging app of choice, and TikTok.
