Shares in former President Donald Trump’s media company rose 30 percent on Monday as investors signal their belief that the presumed Republican nominee will win the 2020 election following an assassination attempt at a campaign rally on Saturday.
Pre-market trading sent shares of Trump Media & Technology Group ($TMTG) up nearly 70 percent, according to market data reviewed by The Desk. Shortly after the market open, shares in TMTG were trading around $46, or 30 percent higher from its close price of just under $31 on Friday.
One share of TMTG was trading around $41 by 10:30 a.m., suggesting the market was starting to cool on the stock in light of the incident.
Trump was grazed by a bullet during a campaign rally on Saturday. The shot was fired by a sniper positioned on a roof of an industrial business that was outside the security perimeter for the event. One spectator was killed, and two others were critically injured.
A defiant Trump was rushed off the stage by members of the U.S. Secret Service, and a sniper positioned on a nearby roof neutralized the shooting suspect, who has been identified as a 20-year-old registered Republican.
Some Wall Street analysts say the rally was an indication that retail and some institutional investors believed Trump’s reaction to the shooting would increase his popularity and make it all but certain that he will win the 2020 presidential election in November.
“This is a trade about the election more than the business,” wrote Cary Leahey, an adjunct professor of economics at Columbia University and an independent financial consultant who regularly makes media appearances.
“This is a firm struggling to grow,” Leahey remarked about TMTG. “If his chances of being elected go up, is his firm more valuable? Some traders think so.”
Leahey said the uptick in trading might be short-lived if Trump’s challenger, incumbent President Joe Biden, answers calls from some within his own party to drop out of the presidential race.
“I am confident that if Biden dropped out, Truth Social shares would go down,” he said.
TMTG was founded by Trump in 2021, the same year he exited the White House after losing his re-election bid. The company’s main product is Truth Social, a microblogging platform that replicates the experience of X (formerly Twitter) and which serves as Trump’s main outlet.
