Shares of Trump Media plunged Friday after company insiders, including former President Donald Trump, got the green light to sell shares.
Shares of the owner of Trump’s Truth Social fell as much as 8% to $13.50 on Friday morning before staging a modest recovery. Shares were trading down just under 4.5% to $14.05 at the time of publication.
The stock’s disappointing performance comes as major indexes pared their gains after surging Thursday following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut announcement. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow hit record highs Thursday on the news. Both indexes, along with the Nasdaq, fell less than 1% on Friday.
It’s unclear whether insiders have sold their shares, but Trump in particular has a lot to gain from selling. The former president owns about 57% of the company, or just under 115 million shares. Trump’s stake was worth about $1.6 billion as of Friday, and selling some of it could net him a big windfall.
Despite the golden opportunity, Trump said at a press conference last week that he would not sell his shares. With that single statement, the stock price shot up 27%.
View this interactive chart on Fortune.com
Trump Media went public in March via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and its stock has fluctuated wildly since then. The stock often rises and falls based on Trump’s political fortunes. Shares soared after Trump’s first debate with President Joe Biden, but have lost more than half their value since Vice President Kamala Harris took over as the Democratic presidential nominee.
In addition, experts question whether the company’s stock price should be so high given its weak financial performance. The company brought in just $1.6 million in revenue in the first half of 2024, while it lost more than $300 million in the same period.
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
