Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group slipped in midday trading on Friday after President-elect Donald Trump transferred all of his shares into a revocable trust, according to a regulatory filing.
Trump transferred all of his nearly 115 million shares – worth about $4 billion on paper – in the social parent company Truth Social networking site as a “bona fide gift” to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Securities and Exchange Commission filing said Thursday. Trump's shares make up more than half of the company's stock.
It is unclear why Trump transferred the stock. Donald Trump Jr. is the sole trustee and has sole voting and investment power over all securities owned by the trust.
Trump Media shares were down about 2% at midday, to $34.68 each. At one point on Friday, they were down around 6%.
Trump Media shares have been highly volatile since the company began trading in March. They hit intraday highs near $80 on the first day of trading, then fell to record lows in September when Trump and other insiders were finally allowed to sell shares after standard lock-up agreements came to head Trump has not sold any shares in the company.
The company's stock price has fluctuated wildly on news – good and bad – related to Trump. They fell after Trump's conviction in a hush money trial in May, then surged after the first attempt to assassinate Trump in July. They increased again after he won re-election in November, even as the company reported a third-quarter loss of $19.2 million.
Trump created Trump Media after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.