On Friday, the stock market saw an increase in trading activity for Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT). This comes after the company filed a notification with the exchange indicating that it had sent a letter to Nasdaq about suspected short-selling practices in its shares. The CEO of the company, Devin Nunes, emphasized that such practices are illegal and against SEC regulations.
Trump Media & Technology Group, founded by former President Donald Trump, has been on Nasdaq’s “Reg SHO threshold list” due to potential illicit trading activities. Nunes expressed concern that sophisticated market players may be profiting at the expense of retail investors through naked short selling. Reports suggest that as of April 3, Trump Media was the most expensive U.S. stock to short, providing brokers with a strong financial incentive to lend non-existent shares. Only four market participants were responsible for over 60% of the unusually high volume of DJT shares traded, as stated in the company’s filing.
Yesterday, Trump Media & Technology Group advised shareholders on preventing their shares from being loaned for short interest positions following a decline in DJT’s share price since it launched the Truth Social app on March 26. The company is urging Nasdaq to take action to ensure transparency, compliance, and protection of retail investors’ interests. CEO Nunes requested that Nasdaq take steps to promote transparency, including enforcing Reg SHO, requiring brokers to disclose their net short positions and preventing lending of non-existent shares.
As of the latest check on Friday morning, DJT shares were trading 2.21% higher at $33.93 while its price rose by $0.81 from yesterday’s close price of $27.12