Former U.S. President Trump announced plans to launch his own social network platform “TRUTH Social” on October 20, and is expected to launch a beta version for “invited guests” next month.
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Trump Media The stock opened higher on Wednesday, surpassing the $50 per share mark for the first time in nearly a month.
Trump Media, stock code DJT, rose more than 8% in early trading before retreating slightly.
The company, which owns the Truth Social app, has seen its shares rise more than 50% in the past week. However, the stock is still trading well below its opening price of more than $70 per share when it first traded publicly on March 26.
Trump Media confirmed in a regulatory disclosure Tuesday that former President Donald Trump received an additional 36 million shares of the company’s stock through a so-called earnings bonus.
Trump, who already owns more than 78 million shares, received the windfall as the stock stayed above the $17.50 benchmark for 20 consecutive trading days in a month since it began trading publicly.
Trump currently holds 65% of the shares of Trump Media Company, which is worth $5.7 billion based on a stock price of $50.
The former president was barred from selling the shares for six months after Trump Media merged with shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. in late March.
Trump Media’s surge came as the company’s chief executive, former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, complained about possible market manipulation of the stock by short sellers and the company encouraged shareholders to take steps to prevent it. Stocks were sold off.
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