Pot Stocks, ETFs, Top News And Data From The Cannabis Industry This Week

A shortened week brought less cannabis news than usual, providing the people in the industry with a chance to exhale and look back at the convoluted weeks leading up to the Fourth of July holiday. 

We did witness some relevant action.

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc ZYNE reported that its Phase 1 study of ZYN001 failed; the company said it will now focus on the ZYN002 candidate, Green Market Report CEO Debra Borchardt told Benzinga. 

"The stock initially took a beating on the day this was announced, but then losses were trimmed," Borchardt said. 

She referenced H.C. Wainwright analyst Oren Livnat's Thursday note; the analyst reiterated a Buy rating on Zynerba and said ZYN001 was not included in the firm's bullish thesis for the stock. 

"Still, this same analyst only belives that ZYN002 has a 35-percent chance of being successful," Borchardt said. "ZYN002 had one disappointing study last year and that sent the stock down back then. It seems investors really believe in Zynerba and I feel they believe it will eventually begin to act like GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR GWPH."

Marijuana Indexes On The Rise

Despite the scarcity of news, the United States Marijuana Index, which tracks 17 of the largest marijuana stocks in the U.S., gained about 4.3 percent in the four days of this week, while the North American Marijuana Index, which also includes Canadian stocks, surged roughly 2.2 percent.

Over the last five trading days, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF HMLSF HMMJ rose 2 percent, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ added 1.4 percent to its value. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was up 1.4 percent.

Stock Moves

Here's a look at some of the top marijuana stocks in U.S. exchanges and their performance over the last five trading days:

• 22nd Century Group Inc XXII: up 15.65 percent.
• Aphria Inc APHQF: down 0.4 percent.
• Aurora Cannabis Inc ACBFF: up 1.1 percent.
• Cannabis Sativa Inc CBDS: up 9.1 percent.
• CannTrust Holdings Inc CNTTF: down 0.6 percent.
• Canopy Growth Corp CGC: up 2.5 percent.
• Cronos Group Inc. CRON: up 6.75 percent.
• GW Pharma: up 1.2 percent.
• Hiku Brands Company Ltd DJACF: up 3.7 percent.
• India Globalization Capital, Inc. IGC: up 0.6 percent.
• iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc ITHUF: down 10.5 percent.
• MassRoots Inc MSRT: down 14 percent.
• MedReleaf Corp MEDFF: up 12.3 percent.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro Co SMG: up 3.1 percent.
• THC Biomed Intl Ltd THCBF: up 1 percent.
• Zynerba Pharma: down 16.1 percent.

In Other News

A consortium of cannabis-related media professionals are conducting a Cannabis Media Survey. You can respond by following this link. When finished, you can email your name and email to info@greenmarketreport.com and enter a raffle for two Magical Butter machines.

Canopy Growth Corp. announced the debut of its new Latin American wholly-owned subsidiary, Canopy LATAM Corp., and the acquisition through that subsidiary of Spectrum Cannabis Colombia S.A.S, a Colombian licensed medical cannabis producer.

“Today is a historic day for Canopy Growth and a victory for patients across Latin America as we take a leap forward in the future of medical cannabis across the region,” said Mark Zekulin, the company's president and co-CEO, said in a press release. 

“Sustainable regional production coupled with focused in-market entities led by seasoned regional executives is our winning formula, and the launch of Canopy LATAM represents another successfully executed step in our ambitious global growth strategy.”

Related Link: Why Cannabis Investors Are Eyeing South America

Flow Kana, a California-based provider of sustainable sun-grown cannabis, announced the completion of a $22-million financing round led by Gotham Green Partners, with participation from Poseidon Asset Management, Salveo Capital and notable angel investors including Roger McNamee. To date, Flow Kana has raised a total of $50 million to build and scale its supply chain centered around small craft cannabis farms in northern California.

The completion of this round of financing will enable Flow Kana to focus on expansion of its services to support its ecosystem of independent farmers and build capacity at The Flow Cannabis Institute to manufacture premium cannabis oil for distribution and sale to companies making specialty products such as topicals, tinctures and more, according to the company. 

HeadCount — a nonpartisan organization that works with musicians to promote democratic participation by reaching young people and music fans at concerts and online — has created a singular resource for voters to learn where their elected officials stand on seven major cannabis issues, from industrial hemp to outright legalization.

CannabisVoter.info has links to the best of cannabis media, advocacy organizations and opportunities to take action. And of course, it’s a place where you can register to vote.

“Cannabis policy is one of the only truly nonpartisan issues in modern politics, with the power to engage people of all ages, races and political affiliations. It’s an issue that shows how people’s votes can shape policy and directly change lives. This is why HeadCount launched the Cannabis Voter Project,” Marc Brownstein, HeadCount co-founder and bass player in The Disco Biscuits, told Benzinga.

Cannavated Beverage Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Koios Beverage Corp. KBEV SNOVF, announced an exclusive licensing agreement with CanCore Concepts Ltd., more widely known as Keef Brands, for a line of cannabis-infused beverages.

Keef Brands, through its licensed manufacturing partners, will produce, market and sell a line of beverages that are not only infused with cannabis, but also contain the nootropic supplements from the Koios line of brain-enhancing functional beverages. The resulting product will be the first in the world to combine cannabis infusion with nootropic supplements that are said to enhance the consumer’s mental acuity.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to work with the group at Koios to help launch the first functional cannabis beverages on the U.S. market. The key components to this partnership reside in the combination of both companies core competencies: Cannavated’s formulation and our breadth of licensed distribution across the legal US markets,” a company representative said. 

Tree of Knowledge Inc. is gearing up to go public on the Canadian Stock Exchange. The company applied for a listing on the exchange via a reverse merger with Courtland Capital Inc. that's subject to exchange approval. The deal would provide investors with exposure to a leading cannabidiol brand with high-quality products on three continents. The company plans to partner with one or more licensed producers in Canada to provide raw materials and exposure to the Canadian market.

“Tree of Knowledge has positioned itself on a world platform to create one of the most consistent, GMP, quality brands in its EVRCBD brand," said Tree of Knowledge Chairman Michael Cardi.

"We have assembled infrastructure in the U.S., Europe and now our world headquarters, which will incorporate a specialized grow, research and development, processing, packaging and teaching facility — all to GMP standards."

The company has assembled a "world-class" team drawn from the medical, pharma and international consumer products sectors, the executive said. 

"Tree of Knowledge is also pleased to be working with some of the largest banking firms in Canada to access capital and create shareholder value," Cardi said. 

FSD Pharma Inc. HUGE FSDDF shared an update on the progress of the joint venture between its wholly owned subsidiary FV Pharma Inc. and Auxly Cannabis Group Inc XLY CBWTF. The first phase of the buildout of the FV Pharma facility in Cobourg, Ontario has been approved in an updated construction and development budget provided by Auxly. Of the current 620,000 square feet of building space available, 220,000 square feet will be developed and fully funded, according to the company. 

As part of this project, Auxly will contribute $55 million build out the facility. The company expects first phase construction to be completed and ready for Health Canada approval by the end of December, with the planting of the first harvest by January 2019.

“ FSD retains a 50.1-percent stream — after all operating expenses are recovered plus a 10-percent profit is paid to FSD — of all cannabis and cannabis- derived products produced at the facility,” the company said.

Find out more about this and other news about legal marijuana in Canada, Massachusetts and Vermont with our friends at Marijuana Money, who make a weekly video summary of the top financial and business news in the cannabis industry.

Interesting Data

Cannabis analytics firm New Frontier Data shared sales projections for GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, the first cannabis-based drug approved by the FDA.

“Sales of Epidiolex will effectively open the pharmaceutical CBD market; the Hemp Business Journal (a division of New Frontier Data) forecast the drug to generate between $15 million and $30 million in sales through 2018, and $180 million in 2019,” the firm said.

“HBJ expects the DEA to schedule Epidiolex as a Schedule IV drug and recommend that CBD be rescheduled from a Schedule I drug. Continued regulatory action by the FDA is expected against illicit claims and sales of unapproved, CBD-related products marketed with unproven medical claims."

The latest “The State of Legal Marijuana Markets” report published by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics revealed that the number of adults who can legally buy cannabis products tripled this year with California’s legalization, reaching 47 million people globally. The number is expected to hit 75 million by the end of the year once Canada’s recreational marijuana system comes online.

In the U.S., the firms expect legal sales of $11 billion in 2018. Spending is forecast to surge by $23.4 billion by 2022, with the industry creating more than 460,000 jobs.

Events Calendar

July 9: Ellementa Montreal: Women's Wellness with Cannabis and CBD, a monthly gathering for women focused on cannabis for health, wellness, self-care and caregiving, launches Monday. Dr. Kerklaan of Dr. Kerklaan Theraputics is the event host and a sponsor, Pamela Hadfield, co-founder of HelloMD, is a special guest.

July 25-27: NCIA Cannabis Business Summit and Expo in San Jose, California.

July 27-28: CannaCon Boston.

August 16-17: Benzinga is hosting its first Cannabis Capital Conference in Toronto, Canada. Speakers include Alan Brochstein, Larisa Bolivar, Harrison Phillips, Giadha Aguirre de Carcer, Marvin Washington, Scott Boyes, Mark Lakmaaker, Brett Roper, Nick Kovacevich, Hadley Ford, Tim Seymour, Aras Azadian, Paul Rosen, Jodie Emery, and Cynthia Salarizadeh and the author of this story, among others. 

September 7-9: Oklahoma is hosting its first-ever Hempfest: Hempfest Oklahoma. “After a year of working with Oklahoma politicians and venues, we finally get to announce the world’s largest hemp festival is coming to Oklahoma," Scott McKinley, the event organizer and CEO of Hi Tunes Distribution, told Benzinga.

"With Dj Snoopadelic [Snoop Dogg] coming for a free show in Oklahoma and the massive four-stage, three-day lineup we are about to announce, we are hoping to bring out the masses and educate on what the hemp industry really is."

*All percentages reflect approximate equity moves as of the time of the writing of this article.

Picture by Javier Hasse.