(Reuters) – Shares of Donald Trump’s media and technology company rose more than 3% on Friday after it asked the Nasdaq stock exchange to help prevent “naked” short-selling of its shares.
Trump Media & Technology Group has warned Nasdaq’s CEO about “potential market manipulation” in its stock, the company announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Reports indicate that DJT was ‘by far’ the most expensive US stock to short on April 3, 2024, meaning brokers have a significant financial incentive to lend out non-existent shares,” TMTG CEO Devin Nunes said in the newspaper. submit.
“Data made available to us shows that just four market participants are responsible for more than 60% of the extraordinary volume of DJT shares traded: Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, G1 Execution Services and Jane Street Capital.”
A spokesperson for market maker Citadel said Nunes tried to blame “naked short selling” for his falling share price, adding that integrity was at the heart of everything Citadel does.
Virtu Americas, G1 Execution Services and Jane Street Capital did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The news comes amid a high level of volatility in Trump Media’s stock following its strong debut trading session on the Nasdaq last month.
The Nasdaq did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
A Nasdaq spokesperson told CNBC: “Nasdaq is committed to the principles of liquidity, transparency and integrity in all of our markets.”
“We have long championed transparency in short selling and have been an active supporter of the SEC’s rules and enforcement efforts designed to monitor and prohibit naked short selling,” the spokesperson said.
Naked short-selling of stocks refers to a practice in which an investor short sells stocks without first borrowing them or establishing that they can be borrowed.
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
