Trump Media DJT shares gain as presidential election voting nears end

Shares in former President Donald Trump‘s media company pushed higher as voting results in the contentious presidential election campaign rolled in Tuesday.

Trump Media & Technology Group was up 10% as formal after-hours trading came to an end on Tuesday evening, Election Day. The shares extended those gains in special late trading on the Robinhood brokerage for major stocks, rising about 43% to above $48 a share.

The stock, seen as a market proxy for the former president’s prospects as he seeks a second term in office, rallied despite a surprise earnings statement that showed the company lost $19.2 million in the third quarter.

Shares have been volatile during the election season, rising and falling as Trump’s fortunes swirled during his neck-and-neck race with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

The stock extended gains Tuesday even as no major swing states were yet to be called by NBC News. But Trump did have an early lead in the Electoral College so far. (Follow CNBC’s latest election coverage here.)

The shares are down more than 34% over the past five trading sessions as Harris seemingly picked up momentum in the race’s final days. However, the stock, with ticker DJT after the Republican’s initials, has soared more than 105% over the past month.

In Tuesday’s session, as the candidates made their closing push, the stock burst more than 18% at its session high, only to close down 1.2%.

In the earnings release, the company reported revenue of just over $1 million.

“This has been an extraordinary quarter for the Company, for Truth Social users, and for our legion of retail investors who support our mission to serve as a beachhead for free speech on the Internet,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement.

Nunes is a former congressman from California.

To be sure, the stock is not necessarily a perfect play on whether Trump wins. The stock could be influenced by other factors such as profit-taking, given its hefty gains already this year.