Trump Media's Shares Soared After Trump Confirms He Will Not Sell His Shares

Donald Trump stated that he had no intention of selling his shares in Truth Social. (Photo: Truth Social @realDonaldTrump)

JAKARTA Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) shares surged on Friday 8 November after US President-elect Donald Trump stated that he had no intention of selling his stake in a company that owns social media platform Truth Social.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump denied what he called the rumor that he planned to sell his shares, the day after the company's share price plummeted. "There are rumors and/or false statements that might have been made by market manipulation or short sellers, that I intend to sell Truth shares. RUMORS OR STATEMENTS ARE WRONG. I WILL NOT SELL!" Trump wrote.

The company's shares closed up 15.2% on Friday at 31.91 US dollars (IDR 500 thousand), and briefly reached the highest level of the session at 33.03 US dollars (IDR 516 thousand). Stock trading was suspended due to volatility following Trump's statement.

Trump Media shares had surged for several weeks leading up to the election. On Thursday, November 7, stock prices experienced a decline due to speculation about Trump's second term of office starting to decrease a day after his win over Democratic Party vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Shares rose 5.9% on Wednesday 6 November after Election Day on Tuesday, November 5.

Although Trump and Vice President Harris are almost balanced in many public opinion polls ahead of the election, the online betting market is more in favor of the former president, prompting investors to enter securities deemed more likely to benefit or be depressed under his leadership. This led to an increase of about 200% in Trump Media's stock in the six weeks leading up to the election.

Trump had previously stated in September that he would not sell his shares in the company and would not leave the social media platform he founded.

Trump owns nearly 115 million shares and about 53% of shares in Trump Media. With stock prices on Friday, Trump's holdings in the company are worth about $3.7 billion, while its total market cap is around $7 billion. Implicit volatility 30-day stock options-based measures on how likely stocks will swing in the near future have fallen from the 300% high record achieved before the election, but remain very high at around 200%, according to Trade Alert data.

Even though the presidential election is over, stock traders expect shares to swing for 25% in the next week, according to LSEG option data.