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Trump Media surges after SPAC merger

The SPAC-related saga of Truth Social’s parent company culminated Tuesday, with the debut of Trump Media & Technology Group as a publicly traded stock.

Its appearance on the public markets comes after the money-losing company — it lost $49 million in the first three quarters of 2023, according to SEC filings — was merged with a publicly traded, cash-rich shell company, Digital World Acquisition Corporation, on Monday. Former President Donald Trump owns nearly 60% of the shares in the company, which was valued at $5.8 billion before trading began.

The shares surged more than 40% in their first day of trading, which would make the former president’s stake worth more than $5 billion. That’s a welcome windfall for Trump, whose finances came under strain after he was found liable of committing business fraud in New York state and ordered to pay a $454 million judgement, which Trump is appealing.

$5.8 billion

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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