DJT shares rise after Biden stumbles in Trump debate

The stock price of Trump Media soared more than 11% in premarket trading Friday morning after majority shareholder Donald Trump benefited from alarming stumbles by President Joe Biden in their first presidential debate.

Trump Media, which trades under the DJT ticker, had closed down 6.42% on Thursday afternoon at $36.73 per share. But the Truth Social app owner was trading at more than $40 per share early Friday, with volume heavy at more than 3 million shares changing hands.

Former President Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee, owns almost 65% of Trump Media shares. The company’s market capitalization was around $6.5 billion as of Friday despite having meager revenue.

Biden, 81, was widely seen by political observers and Democratic donors as giving a dismal performance on Thursday night in his debate against Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta. Biden’s speech was garbled at times, he lost his train of thought and his face looked blank, with his mouth agape, at times as Trump spoke.

One major Democratic fundraiser told CNBC that Biden’s performance was a “disaster.”

“This is terrible. Worse than I thought was possible. Everyone I’m speaking with thinks Biden should drop out,” that donor said.

This is developing news. Check back for updates.