
Conservative channel Newsmax surges more than 700% in stock market debut
CBSN
Newsmax, the conservative media company, went public on Monday, with shares surging more than 700% in its first day on the New York Stock Exchange, giving it a market capitalization of more than $10 billion.
A rival to Fox News, Newsmax began trading on Monday after selling 7.5 million shares for $10 each in its March 28 initial stock offering, according to financial data firm FactSet. Trading under the ticker "NMAX," the shares surged more than 720% to close at $82.25 each by the time trading ended at 4 p.m.
The right-leaning news company, which began in 1998 as a digital news outlet, expanded into cable news more than a decade ago, with CEO Chris Ruddy telling CNBC on Monday that at the time he believed there was room for a competitor for Fox News. Since that debut, Newsmax has become the No. 7 basic cable network, Ruddy said.