Trump's Media Company's Shares Plunge After Conviction In Hush Money Case

Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group fell sharply by 6.5% on Thursday after the conviction of former US President Donald Trump in a hush-money case.

He owns a majority stake in Trump Media & Technology, which operates the social media platform Truth Social.

A New York jury has convicted Donald Trump for falsifying documents to conceal a payment made to silence an adult star.

Trump Media & Technology shares traded at $48.44 apiece on the Nasdaq post the closing bell. The stock closed at $51.12 during regular hours on Thursday, May 30, with a valuation of $9 billion.

Donald Trump was found guilty after two days of deliberation by a jury of 12 judges on 34 counts of falsifying business records. 

Justice Juan Merchan will sentence the convicted former President on July 11, just days before the Republican Party is scheduled to formally nominate Mr Trump as its Presidential candidate, reported news agency Reuters.

The report also said that the crime for which Donald Trump has been convicted has a maximum sentence of four years.

The trial also featured explicit testimony from adult star Stormy Daniels about her sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006. 

Mr Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen also testified that the former president approved the $1,30,000 hush money payment and that he planned to reimburse Mr Cohen through monthly payments falsely accounted as legal expenses, the Reuters report stated.

Donald Trump faces three other criminal trials including two which accuse him of trying to overturn the 2020 election, and another trial for his handling of classified national security documents, reported AFP.

 
Earlier in March, the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Trump Media saw significant demand as the stock surged 59% in its Nasdaq debut. The shares of the media company have been volatile with a price band.  The shares have been extremely volatile. The all-time high to the all-time low trading range of the stock has been between $12.4 to $79.38.

The company posted its first financial results in May, reporting a loss of more than $327 million for the first quarter of FY24. The company also posted a negative adjusted EBITDA of more than $12.11 million.