Trump Faces Stock-Manipulation Questions After Buying Up to $530,000 of Palantir and Praising It on Social Media

Trump faces stock-manipulation questions

Praised Palantir on social media after buying shares

Bought as much as $530,000 worth in March

US filing disclosed only a range, not the exact amount

Shares rose from $128 to $152 after the post

President Donald Trump is facing questions over whether he used social media to boost Palantir Technologies Inc. after buying several hundred thousand dollars of the stock.

Disclosure records from the US Office of Government Ethics, cited by CNBC, show Trump bought between $197,000 and $530,000 of Palantir shares in March. The agency reports transaction values in ranges rather than exact amounts. Some trades were marked "Unsolicited," meaning they were not made on professional advice.

On April 10, when Palantir shares had fallen to a closing price of $128.06, Trump wrote on his social media account that "PLTR has proven to be a great fighting force and equipment." Palantir shares had been sliding after short seller Michael Burry, known as one of the real-life figures behind The Big Short, warned that the stock was overvalued. The shares later climbed to $152.62 on April 22. A spokesman for the Trump Organization said there was no conflict of interest, rejecting allegations of market manipulation.

Separately, Trump disclosed securities trades worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the first quarter of this year. Stocks he bought for at least $1 million during the period included Nvidia, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, Boeing and Costco. In February, he sold between $5 million and $20 million each of big tech shares including Microsoft, Meta and Amazon. His first-quarter trading volume is estimated at about 3,700 transactions.

Son Ju-hyung, Hankyung.com reporter handbro@hankyung.com