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. 

“We’re in 57 million homes — I think we’re very competitive with” Fox News, he told CNBC. 

The IPO provides Newsmax with a valuation of more than $10 billion, based on the number of shares outstanding, according to a regulatory filing. Ruddy, who owns 39 million shares of Newsmax, saw his stake soar to a value of about $3.2 billion, based on today’s closing price.

For the first six months of 2024, Newsmax’s revenue surged about 33% from the year-earlier period to $79.8 million, although its loss widened to $55.5 million a year ago versus $38.8 million in 2023, the regulatory filing shows. 

Last year, Newsmax settled a defamation lawsuit filed by voting company Smartmatic, which the regulatory filing says included a cash payment of $40 million over time. 

Newsmax’s debut took place on an unsettled day in the markets, with the S&P 500 ending higher after dipping more than 1% in early trading.