Fascinating story in the
New York Times today on the debut of Trump's "Truth Social" stock, trading under DJT. Per the Times, DJT quickly achieved a market cap of $8 billion on total sales of $3 million. Since it operates at a $49 million loss, there are no earnings with which to calculate a p/e ratio. In terms of a price/sales ratio, the stock trades a 2,300 times sales. Robinhood, the biggest of the meme stocks by market cap, trades a nine times sales. At this point, Mr. Trump's stake in the company has
more than doubled his net worth.
Axios declares the Trump Media is "
officially a meme stock," which by definition says that the stock price is divorced from any traditional measure of value. It's purely a sentiment play which, they warn, is a dangerous game for "investors" to play. Robinhood's market cap peaked at $59 billion, today it's $17 billion. Upstart peaked at $32 billion and now sits at $2.3 billion. Investors in AMC Entertainment didn't fare as well: the market cap peaked at $32 billion and now sits at $1.1 billion. That would be ... hmm, a 96.5% decline from its peak.
Axios warns, "If we learned one thing in January 2021, it's dangerous to bet against a meme stock that's going up." Perhaps because it's held by believers rather than investors,
Bloomberg reports that its the most expensive stock to try to short with borrowing costs over 200 times the average.
I wonder if state agencies in Texas are allowed to own it? And, more seriously, whether it's purely a one-off in the stock market or evidence of the underlying fragility of it?
Comments
Purchases of DJT are really "donations" in my eyes. If you buy now and hold long-term, you don't expect to get your money back. There is no plan for generating revenues.
What is the meaning of Pravda?
truth
Pravda (Russian for "truth" and "justice") is a Russian newspaper, formerly the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Where does the name Pravda come from?
Pravda (Правда, Truth) was the official voice of Soviet communism and the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1918 and 1991.
What would be a bull market without speculative plays? Meme stocks, SPAC M&As, IPOs, ODTE options, cryptos, gold?
More important, I view Tweety Amin similar to Elon Musk -- both will say/do anything to goose their stock prices and public images (which often are intertwined) and both have friends overseas with very deep pockets who wouldn't mind supporting the share price even if it means they only do it for a likely tax writeoff. I daresay much of the retail holders are in it just to 'show their support' for the guy because they like the spectacle and can feel part of things.
* current price 66.50, the $20 strikes in JAN25 are 9.50 ... heck the 2.50 strikes that month are $1.14.
xoxo
Nobody should be surprised if he tried to change the timetable, though. A snake is going to slither.
The same analysis suggested that, based on fundamentals, the stock is worth about $2 / share. At 10:30 EDT on 3/28, it was trading at $66 which hints at the magnitude of the downside that investors might need to accommodate.
I haven't bothered to look up the affiliations of the others Eric Swider, Kashyap “Kash” Patel, W. Kyle Green, Robert Lighthizer but Lighthizer was DTJ trade representative, and I would bet they didn't get appointed to the Board to provide independent guidance and direction shareholders best interests.
A majority vote to change the lockup period is probably pretty easy to setup, but I would think once people loose lots of money when DJT unloads his stock, the class action lawyers will be gleeful.
If DTJ sells without proper notice,I assume he could also be an SEC target. However,he can use the shares as collateral for a loan in six months
I knew he sounded familar!
FD may rightly observe that 2% isn’t enough to “move the needle.” However - it does contribute to better sleep. BTW - I believe the investing landscape is likely to look a lot different after November, regardless of the outcome.
Given my general assessment of Mr. Gross's mental function (impaired, when last he was relevant), I'm going to let the two of them work it out together while I go have coffee.
I think I'll pass on DJT.
Going once...
I wasn't aware of the context for your statement.
Oh my, I just discovered he is now peddling bibles.
Is nothing sacred to him?
https://www.barrons.com/articles/donald-trump-djt-stock-truth-social-net-worth-election-1005340a?mod=hp_HERO
Edit/Add, 3/30/24. For details, see LINK.
“It’s my favorite book.”
“I read it all the time.”
“We need to make America pray again.”
When it comes to TV pitch-men, few can compare to legendary Ron Popeil.
So his 'bible' is selling for $59.99. Which also is '666' upside down. Irony!
Semi-relatedly, I seem to remember the old saying that fascism will "come to America wrapped in a flag and carrying a bible."
Mike
Separately - was wondering if I can still get me a pair of those NEVER SURRENDER Golden hightop sneakers for $399. Hope they didn't sell out already.
ya, stearing clear on this thread as nothing constructive will come of it.
Good Health and Good Luck to ALL!
I can relate to your angst. I subscribe to the WSJ - but simply ignore their right leaning editorial pages. And I continue to subscribe to Bill Fleckenstein’s daily market “Rap.”. His right leaning political opinions and occasional slams against Democrats grate my sensibilities. But I learn a lot about investing from him and the readers who write in. I don’t think either political side has a monopoly on money making skill. I’ll take away whatever I can from both.
Where I jump ship is when people turn vitriolic against one another and start hurling insults. Hardly the case to this point.