Trump Media shares soar for a second day

The stock climbed more than 4% and lifted the value of Trump’s stake in the company to $2.2 billion days before he and other insiders will be allowed to sell their shares for the first time since the company’s public listing in March

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, majority-owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, soared for a second day on Tuesday ahead of a debate between the Republican presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The stock climbed more than 4% and lifted the value of Trump’s stake in the company to $2.2 billion days before he and other insiders will be allowed to sell their shares for the first time since the company’s public listing in March.

Trump and Democratic candidate Harris meet for the first time on Tuesday night in their scheduled debate, a clash that could prove crucial in their neck-and-neck race for the White House.

Including gains on Monday, the stock is nearly 11% higher this week.

It is definitely a proxy for excitement ahead of the debate and hopes that Trump is going to do well tonight, said Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading in Ontario, Canada. You have got Trump supporters saying, ‘I’m going to buy DJT because I support Trump’, like it’s a statement.

The jump in the shares of Trump Media, which owns the Truth Social app, follows weeks of declines that sent it to record lows last week as Harris narrowed or erased Trump’s lead in polls ahead of the November 5 election.

The debate follows a poll published on Sunday showing Trump up one percentage point against Harris at 48%-47%.

With eight weeks left until the election, contracts for a Harris victory are trading at 53 cents, with a potential $1 payout, on the PredictIt politics betting platform. Contracts for a Trump win are at 52 cents.

Trump Media saw its value briefly surge to around $10 billion following its stock market listing in March, lifted in part by Trump supporters and traders betting he would win the election.

Strategists say Trump Media’s stock market value, now at $3.8 billion, is unrelated to its business fundamentals. For the June quarter, Trump Media reported a loss of $16.4 million and revenue of $837,000 – equivalent to the sales of two Starbucks stores.