(Reuters) – Shares of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s media company surged to their highest since July on Tuesday as betting odds favored the Republican candidate in his bid for reelection to the White House.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social app, jumped 9% to $34.17, and the stock has nearly tripled since sinking to an all-time low in late September.
Since its listing, Trump Media has been popular with traders who view it as a speculative bet on Trump winning the Nov. 5 election. He owns 57% of the company, making his stake now worth almost $4 billion.
Trump Media’s revenue in the June quarter was $837,000 and the company is burning cash. Strategists say its nearly $7 billion stock market value is detached from its day-to-day business.
As of mid-day, traders had exchanged $1.1 billion worth of Trump Media shares, in line with a recent surge in trading volume, according to LSEG data.
Trump’s odds of beating Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, in election have recently edged higher on betting websites, though opinion polls show the race is a dead heat.
Oddschecker.com, which reflects odds across a number of betting platforms, had Trump at the equivalent of about a 62% chance of winning and Harris at about 38%.
On the PredictIt platform, contracts for a Trump victory traded at 60 cents, with a potential $1 payout. Harris contracts were at 46 cents.
Polymarket has Trump with a 64% chance of winning and Harris at 36%, with a combined $2.2 billion in volume. One of four accounts on Polymarket that have fueled speculation over their large bets on a Trump victory added to its wagers Tuesday, increasing the potential payout if Trump wins to nearly $44 million, according to Polymarket’s activity tracker.
With just two weeks left before the election, Harris held a marginal 46% to 43% lead over Trump in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. Other polls show the two candidates neck and neck in the seven battleground states that are expected to determine the winner.
Trump Media saw its value briefly balloon to nearly $10 billion following its March stock market debut through a tie-up with a blank-check company.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich in Oakland, California; additional reporting by Michelle Conlin in New York, editing by Deepa Babington)
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