(Reuters) – Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group slumped to a two-week low on Thursday, as speculative bets on Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential election lost steam a day after his victory.
The stock was nearly 20% lower at 10:25 a.m. ET, on track to erase its 6% gain on Wednesday after majority owner Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris to secure a second White House term.
While Trump and Harris were neck and neck in most polls leading up to the election, online betting markets favored the former president more, prompting investors to pile into “Trump trades” – securities that could benefit or come under pressure under his leadership.
That led to a 200% surge in Trump Media stock in the six weeks before the election. The value of Trump’s stake in the company has grown by $2.8 billion to $4.1 billion in that period.
The stock attracted $7.3 million in net inflows from retail investors on Wednesday, well below its record high of $14.4 million on Oct. 29 and other days leading up to Nov. 6, according to data from Vanda Research, indicating trading in anticipation of election results was much higher than on the voting day.
Strategists have said Trump Media’s $6.4 billion valuation is detached from fundamentals.
On Election Day, the company reported a net loss of $19.2 million for the quarter ended September and a revenue of $1 million.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
