NEW YORK (AP) — The stock price for Donald Trump's social media company slid again Monday, pushing it more than 66% below its peak set late last month.
Trump Media & Technology Group closed down 18.4% at $26.61 as more of the euphoria that surrounded the stock fades. It's a sharp comedown since nearing $80 after the owner of Truth Social merged with a shell company to get its stock trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “DJT,” for Trump's initials.
Part of the decline may be due to criticism that the stock price had zoomed way past what skeptics said the money-losing company is worth, particularly one with tough odds for success. But another part is also likely because of action Trump Media took Monday.
The company filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that open the door for the future potential sale of millions of shares. The document, called an S-1, relates to warrants held by investors that can be transformed into shares of stock, as well as shares held by company insiders.
The filing also includes all the shares held by the former president. Trump, though, remains under a “lock-up” deal that largely restricts him from selling his shares for another roughly five months. His son, Donald Trump Jr., who is a director on the board, and CEO Devin Nunes, are also bound by the lock-up.
Typically, all shares of stock held by insiders subject to lock-up deals are included in such filings, according to Jay Ritter, an expert on initial public offerings of stock at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business.
The filing does not necessarily mean any investors are planning to sell their shares, Sarasota, Florida-based Trump Media & Technology Group said in a statement.
Trump Media got its place on the Nasdaq after merging with a company called Digital World Acquisition Corp., which was essentially a pile of cash looking for a target to merge with. It's an example of what's called a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, which can give young companies quicker and easier routes to getting their shares trading publicly.
S-1 filings are typically filed quickly after a SPAC deal closes, usually within 15 or 30 days, said Kristi Marvin, founder of SPACInsider.com, which specializes in SPAC deals.
The exercise of warrants referenced in Trump Media's S-1 filing would increase the number of shares outstanding for the company. That in turn could put downward pressure on the stock price. When something becomes more available, it tends to fall in price unless demand for it picks up accordingly.
The drop in Trump Media's stock price over the last few weeks hurts its shareholders, who experts say are mostly smaller-pocketed investors rather than big institutions. Several users of Truth Social have said they bought shares to show their support of the former president.
The drop also puts a huge hit on Trump's finances directly. He could personally own nearly 114.8 million shares, depending on the company's performance. That would be worth $3.15 billion at its current price. On March 27, that was worth nearly $7.6 billion.
On Monday, Trump arrived at a New York court for the start of jury selection in his hush-money trial. It's the first trial of any former U.S. commander in chief.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at court for the start of jury selection in his historic hush money trial, Monday, April 15, 2024 in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool via AP)
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.
Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season as Seattle finished with 100 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals in its second year.
But the Kraken failed to match expectations this season and spent most of the year trying to climb back into playoff contention after a terrible start, and failed to build on the success of that playoff run. Seattle finished tied for fifth in the Pacific Division after going 34-35-13 with 81 points, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks left in the regular season.
Hakstol went 107-112-27 in his three seasons in charge of the Kraken.
Seattle general manager Ron Francis hinted that changes could be coming less than a week after the season ended. Given the chance to confirm Hakstol would get a fourth season, Francis instead hedged and said a review was underway to analyze the entire coaching staff.
A week later, Hakstol was out.
“I thank Dave for his hard work and dedication to the Kraken franchise,” Francis said in a statement. “Following our end-of-the-season review, we have decided to make a change at our head coach position. These decisions are never easy, but we feel this is a necessary step to help ensure our team continues to improve and evolve.
Francis also said assistant coach Paul McFarland would not return.
Hakstol was rewarded with a two-year extension after last season when Seattle reached the second round of the playoffs and kept Hakstol under contract through the 2025-26 season. But Seattle was unable to maintain the style of play that led to its success last season and couldn’t overcome significant injuries to Andre Burakovsky, Brandon Tanev and Philipp Grubauer early in the season. Seattle also played most of the final portion of the season without top defenseman Vince Dunn due to neck injury.
Seattle started this season 8-14-7 including an eight-game losing streak, before a big turnaround in late December and January that pushed the Kraken back into the playoff conversation. But the Kraken went just 13-16-3 after the All-Star break and a painful overtime loss at home to Vegas on March 12 brought an end to any reasonable playoff aspirations.
Scoring goals was a problem that the Kraken couldn’t solve all season. Seattle was 29th in the league in goals scored, 29th in shooting percentage and 18th on the power play, negating a season of strong defense and goaltending.
Hakstol was a surprise choice when Seattle hired him to be the first coach in franchise history. His first stint as a coach in the NHL started strong in Philadelphia in 2015-16 with two playoff appearances in his first three seasons. But it fell apart in the fourth season and he was fired 25 games into that year with the Flyers at 8-11-6 and just 22 points.
It was a rough inaugural season for Seattle as the team dealt with the expectations of trying to match what Vegas did in its expansion season while balancing COVID-19 restrictions that impacted much of that first season. Seattle finished at 27-49-6 in that first season but rebounded in Year 2 when the Kraken finished with 100 points, toppled defending champion Colorado in the first round of the playoffs and took Dallas to a Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.
Todd McLellan and 2019 Stanley Cup winner Craig Berube are among the experienced NHL head coaches available, pending more movement around the league in the coming weeks.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol, top center, reacts on the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday, April 29, 2024, after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol looks on from the bench against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Monday, April 24, 2023, in Seattle. The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday, April 29, 2024, after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
