“Shortseller Sharks” Circle Truth Social After Trump/Elon X Livestream… Nice Try, Warren

Nice try, Warren, but the market’s not folding just yet. 

The Dow Jones pulled a fast one today, scoring a 394-point gain (up 1%) and closing in on last month's record highs. The Nasdaq had a little more aura, jumping 2.3%, while the S&P 500 tagged along, rising 1.5%—now just 5% shy of its July peak. 

So what got the ball rolling? This morning’s inflation report left everyone satisfied and smiling. Now, folks are crossing their fingers, hoping the Fed will finally hand out that rate cut we’ve been wishing for.

Home Depot’s quarterly report was like a leaky faucet, with shares dripping after the company downgraded its sales outlook. Somehow, though, the stock still managed to squeeze out a 1% gain.

Meanwhile, Starbucks stunned everyone, swapping out its CEO for Chipotle's head honcho, Brian Niccol. That news sent Starbucks' stock up 20% while Chipotle’s shares fell 10%.

Nvidia, on the other hand, continued its already legendary run, adding another 5% to Monday’s gains, thanks to Bank of America naming it a top "rebound" pick.

As always, here’s our heatmap for today.

“Shortseller Sharks” Circle Truth Social After Trump/Elon X Livestream

When Trump decided to rekindle his old flame with X (formerly Twitter), he probably didn’t expect Truth Social to throw such a jealous fit. But here we are. On Monday, the stock dropped 5% after Trump announced his return to X, leaving investors wondering if he’s already ghosting his own platform.

(Source: Exchange4media)

Trump’s livestream with Elon Musk? It sent the stock tumbling another 3% today. Now, Truth Social is at its lowest point since going public, and the sharks are circling, ready for a feast as the shorts move in.

Donald Trump’s return to X (formerly Twitter) for a chat with Elon Musk was supposed to be a big deal. After all, you’ve got two of the most talked-about figures on the internet, sitting down for a friendly chat on a platform that Trump once rivaled. But instead of boosting Truth Social’s stock, it seems to have triggered a wave of uncertainty.

The conversation, which was delayed due to what Musk called a “massive DDOS attack” (because nothing says “welcome back” like internet traffic mayhem), didn’t exactly inspire confidence in investors. The fact that the talk took place on X—a direct competitor to Truth Social—might have reminded everyone that Trump’s platform is still trying to find its footing in a market dominated by the likes of Musk’s 200 million daily users on X.

If the X appearance wasn’t enough to shake things up, Truth Social’s latest financials definitely added fuel to the fire. Last week, Trump Media & Technology Group reported a $16 million loss for Q2, with revenues barely scraping $837,000. 

The company’s leadership team wasn’t exactly reassuring. Truth Social’s management didn’t exactly seize the moment to reassure nervous investors. Instead of holding an earnings call that could’ve provided much-needed context and maybe even calmled some fears, they skipped it altogether. They left investors with nothing but a 10-Q SEC filing—a dry, bare-bones report that didn’t exactly paint a rosy picture.

Naturally, the shorts have been quick to pounce. Short interest in DJT has skyrocketed, climbing over 58% in July alone. We’re talking about a jump from 5.2 million shares shorted at the end of June to a whopping 8.3 million by mid-August. That’s 12% of the stock’s total float—so if you think the recent drops are bad, the shorts are betting there’s more pain to come.

So, where does this leave Truth Social? The stock is down more than 37% in the last month, and the technicals don’t look much better. The charts show a steady decline, and with short interest climbing, it seems like the market is bracing for more turbulence.

But don’t go writing Truth Social’s obituary just yet. Trump’s still contractually bound to his own creation, meaning he’s not ready to ditch the platform—at least not until the ink dries on that SEC filing. According to the fine print, he’s required to post on Truth Social before he can share anything on other platforms. So while the stock might be down, Trump isn’t abandoning his media company. And if there’s anything we know about “The Donald”, love him or hate him, he doesn’t give up easily.

Stock.News has positions in Starbucks.