Entrepreneur and possible Trump running mate Vivek Ramaswamy bought nearly 3 million shares of Buzzfeed in recent months, giving him a 7.7% stake in the struggling media company and making him the fourth largest investor—leading Buzzfeed’s share price to spike.
Buzzfeed’s share price was up about 14% just before noon on Wednesday after Vivek Ramaswamy, one of ... [+]
Ramaswamy bought 2,723,927 shares of Buzzfeed beginning in March and ending Tuesday—a time period during which share prices ranged between $1.47 and $2.51—for about $3.9 million, according to a new regulatory filing.
Ramaswamy said in the filing he hopes to discuss “numerous operational and strategic opportunities to maximize shareholder value, including a shift in the company's strategy” with management, and said Buzzfeed is “undervalued and represent(s) an attractive investment opportunity.”
Buzzfeed’s share price has jumped following the news of Ramaswamy’s investment, increasing 25% as of 12:20 p.m. EDT Wednesday and hitting an intraday high of $4.56—the highest it's been since March 17, 2023.
Ramaswamy is now Buzzfeed’s fourth largest stakeholder behind Comcast Corp., NEA Management Co. and Hearst Communications Inc., according to FactSet.
Forbes has reached out to a representative for Ramaswamy for comment.
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About $115 million. That's Buzzfeed's market capitalization as of Wednesday afternoon, a far cry from its over $1 billion valuation when it went public in 2021.
Why Buzzfeed’s trading volume is so high. As of 11:30 a.m., Buzzfeed’s trading volume, or the total number of shares exchanged during trading hours, was about 58.5 million—which is far higher than the average of 498,736 and higher than much larger stocks like Nvidia and Tesla. The sudden increase in trading volume could indicate meme trading or other unusual activity with the stock.
Buzzfeed has struggled since it went public in 2021. In its latest earnings report released earlier this month, the media company said its first quarter revenue was down 18% compared to last year, advertising revenue was down 22%, content revenue was down 19% and commerce and other revenues were down 19% year-over-year. Last April, Buzzfeed announced it was closing its Pulitzer Prize-winning Buzzfeed News, saying the business model of news tailored for social media had become too difficult to sustain. For Ramaswamy’s part, he has been recognized as a top contender for former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick after he ended his own presidential campaign in January. He is listed on the filing as having the principal occupation of entrepreneur, has also been a big investor in the biotech and drug development sphere and founded an “anti-woke” index fund provider. He grew his fortune in large part from his role in a drug-development company named Roivant Sciences, which went public in 2021.
We estimated Ramaswamy’s net worth at over $950 million in August 2023.