The stock was initially priced at $10 per share - seemed reasonable enough - but then went absolutely bonkers, shooting up to between $59 and $63. Trading actually had to be halted several times because things got so wild.
Newsmax has positioned itself as the conservative alternative in media, and it seems investors are betting big on their strategy. They've been making a pretty deliberate pivot toward streaming and digital platforms - smart move, if you ask me, considering how cable viewership continues to slide year after year.
The company reported about $80 million in revenue for the first half of 2024, and from what I understand, most of that came from advertising. Not bad, but not exactly justifying that stock price jump either (though I'm certainly no financial advisor!).
CEO Chris Ruddy has been talking up their online expansion plans. He's been saying things like, "We're meeting viewers where they are" - corporate-speak for "cable is dying and we know it."
I'm curious to see if they can maintain this momentum. These massive IPO pops sometimes fizzle out just as dramatically - remember that delivery app that shot up 250% on day one and then crashed a week later? The market can be weirdly emotional sometimes.
