Newsmax debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday and surged over 500% in the first few hours of trading, leading to nearly a dozen trading halts following its initial public offering, as its market cap surged to more than $5.5 billion.
Newsmax began trading Monday on the NYSE. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Newsmax, the outlet known for its right-wing news stance, and trading under the ticker symbol “NMAX,” opened Monday at $14 per share before surging over 500%, reaching a high of $76.64 around noon.
The stock was trading around $62 shortly before 1:45 p.m. Monday afternoon, still up more than 500% on the day.
Trading of the news outlet’s stock was halted 10 times in its first three hours of trading, according to the Nasdaq, which attributed the halts to volatility.
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Newsmax’s market cap is not too far off from other media stocks such as The New York Times Company and CBS parent company Paramount, which have $8 billion and $8.4 billion caps, respectively. Newsmax on Monday afternoon was more valuable than the media companies Tegna and Sinclair combined, which together own nearly 250 local television stations.
Newsmax raised $75 million in its initial public offering, selling 7.5 million shares for $10 each. The news outlet also closed a private preferred offering last month and raised $225 million. Monday’s surge in trading is abnormal for most media companies, especially one that has established itself as a cable news network amid an increasing shift to streaming services. Newsmax recently settled a defamation lawsuit with voting technology firm Smartmatic over false claims the company’s voting machines unfairly helped former President Joe Biden win the 2020 presidential election.
Smartmatic Settles With Newsmax: Here’s Where It And Dominion’s Other Lawsuits Stand (Forbes)