Trump Media & Technology Group is trying to make it harder for short-sellers who want to bet against its stock, with company CEO Devin Nunes formulating recent measures as a case of market manipulation.
Devin Nunes summarized their concern in a letter sent to Adena Friedman about so-called naked short-selling action on the Dow Jones Transportation stock, Nasdaq chief Adena also asked that listed sellers declare their net short positions.
The letter said Dow Jones Transportation (DJT) occurs on Nasdaq’s ‘Reg SHOthreshold list,’ which is telling of illegal trading activity. This is particularly disturbing given that ‘naked’ short selling often entails refined market parties profiting at the cost of retail investors,”.
According to Nasdaq, Nasdaq’s Naked shorting is a prohibited form of investing, where the shares being staked against are never guaranteed or borrowed. This can artificially warp market supply and prompt volatility.
Adena’ letter reached a day after the company also revamped its website’s Frequently Asked Questions section with tips on how long-term investors can control the shorting of their stock. Choices included opting out of security lending programs and transmitting shares into a retirement account.
Before Trump Media’s market debut in March, short selling had been a go-to offender for the heavy losses Dow Jones Transportation has since witnessed, at least among the firm’s most determined supporters. Yesterday, the stock rose as high as 10.4%, with Truth Social users celebrating Nunes’ commentary.
“It looks like @DevinNunes and his team will go down in history as the heroes who eventually won the naked shorts!” one user wrote on Friday. Trump Media is the platform’s parent firm.
However, Friday’s high is still about 44-percent below its peak in March. Shares have descended heavily on the firm’s disappointing fundamentals after it declared a $58 million revenue loss last year.
For company founder and former US President Donald Trump, that’s taken a tremendous toll on his stake, once valued at over $5 billion. Instead, Dow Jones Transportation’s slide has cost him over $3.3 billion as of the same week, Tuesday.
