Trump Media alerts Nasdaq to potential market manipulation from ‘naked’ short selling of DJT stock

Trump Media has warned the Nasdaq market of ‘potential market manipulation’ of the company’s stock by “naked” short selling of shares.

The warning came as Trump Media has offered shareholders detailed instructions on how to avoid someone loaning out their DJT shares to short sellers, who then execute trades betting that the price of the stock will fall.

Trump Media disclosed the warning to Nasdaq CEO Adrena Friedman in a filing Friday morning with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as DJT’s share price as rallied in recent days, but is still sharply lower than the more than $70 per share it debuted with on March 26.

Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes, in his letter, did not directly accuse anyone in particular of naked short selling, which is the sale of stocks without first having borrowed such sales for that purpose.

But Nunes noted that as of Wednesday “DJT appears on Nasdaq’s ‘Reg SHO threshold list,’ which is indicative of unlawful trading activity.”

“This is particularly troubling given that ‘naked’ short selling often entails sophisticated market participants profiting at the expense of retail investors,” Nunes said.

Nunes, who company owns the Truth Social app, pointed to circumstantial evidence, which included DJT being in early April the most expensive stock to short in the United States, which he said would give brokers “significant financial incentive to lend non-existent shares.”

Former President Donald Trump owns nearly 60% of Trump Media shares. The paper value of his stake has dropped by billions of dollars since DJT began public trading last month.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, currently is on trial in New York state court on criminal charges related to a 2016 hush money payment by his then-lawyer to the porn actor Stormy Daniels.

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