Trump Media shares fall below $20 per share for the first time

The months long Trump media The price slide continued on Wednesday as shares of the company, majority-owned by former President Donald Trump, fell below $20 for the first time since the maker of Truth Social went public more than five months ago.

DJT’s stock price hit a low of $19.38 per share around noon, down more than 75% from its high of the day on March 26, the day the company debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Trump Media closed Wednesday’s trading session down more than 4% at $20.10 per share.

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 candidate 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 decline.

Trump owns nearly 59% of Trump Media stock. Even after a major loss of value, Trump’s stake is still worth more than $2.2 billion as of Wednesday’s stock price — more than half of his net worth on paper, according to Forbes.

Trump and other company executives and insiders are bound by lock-up agreements that have so far prevented them from cashing in their shares.

But the lockups expire on September 20, when Trump may decide to sell his shares.

Trump has given no indication that he plans to cash out when he is able. But speculation has been mounting that he might, especially since Trump Media’s latest earnings reports showed it losing millions of dollars and generating little revenue.

If he sells his shares — or even looks like he might — investors could lose confidence in Trump Media, as the company’s own regulatory filings acknowledge.

Like other meme stocks, investing in Trump Media is seen as a way for Trump’s supporters to support him and bet on his chances of defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.

But the company has noted that its fledgling social media platform, Truth Social, is at least partly dependent on Trump’s continued popularity and reputation. Trump, who runs the most popular Truth Social account, has recently started posting more on X, his former messaging app of choice, and TikTok.

The recent stock decline also coincided with Trump’s changing political and legal circumstances. Trump’s chances of winning the election appear to have dimmed after President Joe Biden withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his successor.

Trump Media also announced last month that it had entered into an agreement with investment firm Yorkville Advisors that would allow the company to issue up to $2.5 billion in stock to Yorkville.

The deal would “ensure access to additional capital, as needed, to pursue significant strategic opportunities as we expand our portfolio by acquiring assets and technologies in the Patriot economy,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a July 3 press release.

The company noted in a separate regulatory filing: “The sale and issuance of shares to Yorkville will result in dilution to our existing shareholders, and the sale of shares acquired by Yorkville, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause the price of our common stock to decline.”