Truth Social shares plunge on record volumes, are briefly halted

After shares of Trump Media & Technology group saw a remarkable run, going up roughly 150% since its September 23 low, the stock went into a nosedive today, with such high trading volume that it prompted a temporary halt in trading.

After the halt (which lasted approximately five minutes) was lifted, shares continued to decline and closed the day down roughly 10%.

There was little indication of what spurred the sell-off for the shares, which have seemed to become a trading vehicle for those who wish to express a view of the odds of Trump retaking the White House in November. They’ve rallied sharply in recent weeks as poll numbers have shown the race settling into a dead heat.

Trading volumes topped 97 million, surpassing the previous record set on July 15, when shares surged in the first session after an attempt on the former president’s life.

The movement of the stock aside, though, the prospects of Trump Media’s Truth Social — which went public through a hairy SPAC acquisition process that spawned two separate securities-fraud convictions — don’t look particularly great. It lost a remarkable $327.6 million in the first quarter, and a further $16.4 million in Q2.

Even so, the former president’s ownership stake of nearly 60% of the stock outstanding has a market value of more than $3 billion, even after Tuesday’s tumble.