Newsmax (NMAX 7.46%) stock is seeing another round of significant gains Tuesday. The company's share price was up 9.5% as of 12:45 p.m. ET and had been up as much as 19.1% earlier in the day.
After rising roughly 14% in Monday's trading, Newsmax stock is continuing to move higher in today's session. The stock is seeing some significant recovery after big sell-offs last week, but the gains appear to be primarily driven by meme-stock momentum.
Meme trading drives Newsmax stock higher
Newsmax plummeted in last week's trading as investors sold the stock, apparently to take profits in reaction to news that Dominion Voting Systems' defamation case against the company is heading to a jury trial. The meme stock is now seeing some rebound momentum.
Newsmax had its initial public offering (IPO) on March 31 and has been incredibly volatile across its relatively short history as a publicly traded company. Across its first couple days of trading, the company's share price rose more than 2,200% over the $10 per-share IPO price some investors were able to get. Even after some big pullbacks, the stock is still up roughly 180% from its listing price. While there has been significant business-related news for the company since its public debut, most of the big moves for its valuation have been driven by emotion.
What's next for Newsmax?
In an update that it published last week, Newsmax said that the latest ratings tracking from Nielsen showed that its news station was gaining viewership across all parts of the day. According to the report, total day viewership for Newsmax was up 690% in the first quarter and 1,027% in the prime-time block. Newsmax said that the performance made it the fifth-most-watched cable television network.
While Newsmax has been growing its audience and sales rapidly, it's unclear whether the momentum is sustainable. With the company now valued at roughly $3.6 billion, the media specialist is valued at approximately 21 times last year's sales and looks like a risky play given its lack of profitability and uncertain expansion outlook.