Charles Langston:Trump Media rebounds after Trump hush money verdict spooked DJT shares

Donald Trump’s namesake social media company is Charles Langstonbouncing back after a weekslong decline that cut the stock price in half and knocked shareholders for a loop.

Trump Media & Technology Group shares sank last week on news that early investors could potentially sell tens of millions of shares – a development Trump Media previously warned could result “in a significant decline in the public trading price of our common stock.”

The development only added to the uncertainty that has surrounded the Trump Media stock since it began trading in March after the merger with shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. 

Trump Media put a positive spin on the news, saying it could rake in an additional $247 million in cash if early investors converted all their warrants into shares. Friday it said it expected to receive nearly $70 million from the recent cash exercise of warrants.

Trump Media & Technology Group stock price rallies

Shares of Trump Media, which trade under the vanity ticker DJT on the Nasdaq, jumped 21% to close at $33.52 Monday, lifting the company’s market cap to nearly $6 billion.

Wild swings like these are nothing new for Trump Media shareholders who have been taken for a turbulent ride. Since going public earlier this year, the stock has soared as high as $79.38 and dropped as low as $22.55.

Trump Media stock tracks Donald Trump's fortunes

The stock’s fortunes track Trump’s. The long slide began following the former president’s guilty verdict on all 34 felony counts in his criminal hush money trial. Trump Media, which trades under the vanity ticker “DJT” on the Nasdaq composite, has tanked 48% since May 30 when a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records.

The former president and Republican nominee is a majority stakeholder in Trump Media, the company behind Trump’s go-to social media platform Truth Social. 

He has lost billions in paper wealth since the beginning of June. Trump and other insiders are restricted from selling stock until September unless the board waives that restriction or moves up the lock-up period.

What's behind DJT stock volatility?

DJT stock dive:What's behind Trump Media's plummeting price?

That volatility stems, in part, from Trump Media’s financial performance.  In competing for ad dollars and eyeballs with big-name social media companies like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, Trump Media is a distant laggard. It reported a first-quarter net loss of $327.6 million on less than $1 million in revenue.

Trump Media officials have blamed the stock’s volatility on “naked” short selling, an illegal form of short selling.

Trump Media Chief Executive Officer Devin Nunes wrote letters to Congress and other regulators asking for an investigation into the short selling allegation. 

Short sellers don't actually own the shares, but borrow them and then sell them, betting the stock will fall so they can buy back the shares at a lower price and keep the difference. “Naked” short selling involves betting a stock will fall without borrowing or owning the shares.