Trump Media warned the Nasdaq of “potential market manipulation” of the company’s stock by naked short selling of shares, reported CNBC. The warning came after Trump Media offered shareholders detailed instructions on how to avoid lending their shares to short sellers.
Trump Media disclosed its warning to Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes in his letter to Friedman did not directly accuse anyone in particular of naked short selling but he noted that “DJT appears on Nasdaq’s ‘Reg SHO threshold list,’ which is indicative of unlawful trading activity.”
He also pointed to circumstantial evidence, which included Trump Media stock 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.”
“Data made available to us indicate that just four market participants have been responsible for over 60% of the extraordinary volume of DJT shares traded: Citadel Securities, VIRTU Americas, G1 Execution Services, and Jane Street Capital,” Nunes wrote in the letter.