Truth Social’s stock surges after Donald Trump assassination attempt

Shares in Donald Trump’s social media company soared after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.

Shares of Trump Media, which runs the Truth social platform, closed up about 31% after prices rose 70% in premarket trading over the weekend before falling again.

Analysts said the rise reflected belief that the shootings had increased Trump’s chances of winning the US presidential election in November.

The gunman was shot in the ear during a campaign rally and was killed by a Secret Service sniper moments later.

“I was supposed to die, I wasn’t supposed to be here” Trump Said In one of his first interviews since the attack.

Billionaire Elon Musk is among those to publicly support Trump since the shooting.

“As the election heats up, investors expect more people to use social media platforms to voice their opinions and be the first to see what President Trump and his team are posting,” said Susan Schmidt, head of equity at the Wisconsin Investment Board.

But Wall Street analyst Carey Leahy noted that Truth Social had struggled to grow and said the deal was “more about the election than it was about the business.”

“if [Trump’s] Might a stronger chance of winning make his company more valuable? Some traders wonder.

“I am confident that if Biden withdraws, Truth Social’s stock price will fall,” he added.

Trump founded the Trump Media and Technology Group in 2021 after he lost the 2020 presidential election and was briefly banned from major social platforms including Twitter and Facebook for inciting violence following the U.S. Capitol riot.

Truth Social follows a format much like X (formerly Twitter) and has around 2 million active users, although the number varies depending on the source.

Trump is the largest shareholder.

At today’s stock price of about $40 a share, his holdings are worth about $5 billion — far more than analysts say the company’s revenue and operations justify.

The company’s stock price has been notoriously volatile, depending on events in Trump’s life and whether he will win or lose the election.

Shares in the company’s predecessor company began rising in January after Trump defeated a Republican challenger in the primary.

The stock price soared even further after Trump Media officially listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in March.

But his stock price plummeted after the start of his criminal trial in April, in which he was later convicted of fraud related to hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Shares currently remain below March levels.

“While there is no fundamental performance from the company to support the current ‘price,’ the buyer is likely a political supporter buying shares to shore up the president’s assets ahead of the election,” said Thomas J. Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital.

On Saturday, an image of Trump pumping his fist defiantly to show he had survived an assassination attempt drew cheers from his supporters.

Mr Trump later told US media he felt he had been saved “by luck or by God”.

“The most surprising thing is that I [my head] But I had to deflect by the exact amount, at the exact time,” he said, adding that a bullet that grazed his ear could have easily killed him.

The attack left one spectator dead and two seriously injured by the perpetrator, named as Thomas Matthew Crookes.

The shooter’s motive remains unclear.