Shares of conservative cable channel Newsmax soared more than 100% in early trading Tuesday, a day after the stock’s dizzying debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
Newsmax shares spiked more than 700% in their first trading day Monday, closing at $83.51 per share. The stock opened the day at $14 per share.
The stock surge in volatile trading put the company at a valuation of more than $10 billion. Founder and CEO Christopher Ruddy, who owns roughly 39.2 million Class A shares of the company and 81.4% of voting stock, joined the billionaire ranks after the IPO. As of Tuesday, Ruddy’s stake was worth more than $6 billion.
On Tuesday, Newsmax sent out an email to investors highlighting its stock ride on the opening day of trading.
The trading Tuesday continues a stunning rise for the pure-play cable TV stock. Even as news and live sports grab the biggest audiences, the industry has suffered in recent years as consumers flee cable bundles in favor of streaming.
The right-wing TV channel has gained traction during President Donald Trump‘s second term, and it’s the fourth most-watched cable news channel after Fox News, MSNBC and CNN, according to Nielsen. Ruddy said on CNBC on Monday that he morphed the company from a digital media outlet to a cable channel in an effort to grab market share from Fox News.
Still, its viewership pales in comparison to the dominant conservative channel Fox.
Between Dec. 30 and March 20, Newsmax had an average of 309,000 primetime viewers and 211,000 daytime viewers, according to Nielsen data. Fox News attracted an average of nearly 3.1 million primetime viewers and roughly 2 million daytime viewers during the same period.
“We hate the bundle. The bundle is terrible for the cable industry. It’s terrible for consumers,” Ruddy said on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday. Newsmax started receiving fees from pay TV distributors in recent years to carry its network after primarily receiving advertising revenue as it built its audience.
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