Shares of Trump Media & Technology (DJT) surged 5.02% in pre-market trading on Thursday, following the company's announcement that it had alerted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to potential illegal naked short selling and market manipulation of its stock.

The media company, associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump, specifically pointed to the "suspicious" activities of UK-based hedge fund Qube Research & Technologies. In a memo sent to the SEC, Trump Media highlighted that Qube had only disclosed a short position of nearly 6 million shares in Germany, while third-party sources indicated the hedge fund's total short interest was around 11 million shares as of April 16, virtually unchanged from 10.7 million on March 31.

Trump Media urged the SEC to "immediately investigate this suspicious trading and report your findings back to [Trump Media and Technology Group] and any relevant civil and criminal authorities." This proactive step by the company to address potential market manipulation appears to have been received positively by investors, contributing to the significant pre-market rally. As of now, Qube Research & Technologies has not responded to requests for comment on the allegations.