Why Trump Media (DJT) stock price is surging

Donald Trump will certainly be the next President of the United States, but the fate of his latest venture, Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ: DJT) is less clear.

Throughout 2024, DJT stock has seen wild price swings — particularly as the election drew close in tandem with neck-and-neck polling numbers. Not all of the developments were positive — at times, short interest was massive, the stock crashed by double digits, and trading was even halted twice.

At press time, DJT shares were trading at  $32.78 — year-to-date (YTD) returns stood at 87.85%. However, surprisingly enough, there was no post-election rally — after reaching a high of $51.51 on October 29, shares are down 36.36%. President-elect Trump owns 53% of the company and has stated that he has no intentions of selling his stake.

Now, it seems like the conservative media company’s fortunes could be shifting — on Monday, November 18, DJT stock surged by 16.65% after reports that the business could soon close a potentially transformative deal. 

Monday’s 16.65% move to the upside was caused by news that Trump Media is close to finalizing a deal that would see an all-stock acquisition of cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt (NYSE: BKKT).

Bakkt stock saw an even bigger rally — as BKKT shares went parabolic, closing 162.46% higher on November 18 — in the pre-market trading session, the rally was extended, reaching as high as 206.37%. At the time of publication, BKKT stock was trading at $29.71, up from just $11.31 a day prior.

This isn’t Trump Media’s first foray into cryptocurrency either — in September, the real estate mogul announced the launch of World Liberty Financial, a DeFi platform oriented toward stablecoins meant to serve as an alternative to traditional banking systems.

World Liberty Financial has run into issues — most notably, the venture has slashed its funding goals by 90% after disappointing early results, but it’s apparent that the Trump camp is quite bullish on crypto — a fact made much more significant by the President-elect’s ability to enact pro-crypto policies come January.

Is DJT stock a buy?

Even with the election concluded, it’s hard to separate DJT’s performance from the sentiment surrounding the Republican leader. The stock has traded in a manner unconcerned with fundamentals for a while now, but that course is unsustainable. 

Several key insiders have divested from their stakes in the company — and institutional investors like ARC Global Investments have followed suit. That’s not to say that it should be avoided at all costs — even famed investor Jim Cramer conceded that, while DJT is hard to value, it is full of surprises. 

With the brand strength of the Trump name, strategic moves to leverage the rapid growth seen in crypto and DeFi spaces, and the potential to establish itself as a key part of conservative media, DJT does hold potential — but it will most likely take years for that potential to play out.

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