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

The New Year brought a shortened trading week. The deal flow didn’t stop, with recently-public TILT Holdings Inc SVVTF announcing the acquisition of vaporization company Jupiter Research for $210 million.

Joel Milton, SVP of software and services at TILT told Benzinga, “We are building a company that is at the center of the cannabis ecosystem, and Jupiter allows us to provide the best inhalation technology to the fastest growing segment of consumers. We were so impressed with Mark and the Jupiter team from day one and we’re excited about the synergies between their business and the TILT portfolio”

Related Link: TILT Holdings Targets 'Every Stage Of The Cannabis Supply Chain' With M&A Strategy

Debra Borchardt, CEO of Green Market Report said: “Bigger well-funded players will be competing with each other for the strong companies to acquire. The question is whether this race will cause some companies to overpay to acquire asset. I expect so and the companies they refuse to over pay could find themselves caught short. No doubt this will be an exciting year.”

Marijuana Indexes & ETFs

Over the last five trading days, the United States Marijuana Index, which tracks most of the largest marijuana stocks in the U.S., gained more than 17 percent, pretty much in line with the North American Marijuana Index, which also includes Canadian stocks, which also rose approximately 17 percent.

Over the same period, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF HMLSF HMMJ gained 6.9 percent, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ rose roughly 7.2 percent of its value. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY closed the period up 1.8 percent.

Stock Moves

Here are some of the top marijuana stocks (market cap above $300 million) in U.S. exchanges and how the performed over the last five trading days:

• Acreage Holdings ACRZF: up 12.8 percent

• Aphria Inc APHA: down 3.9 percent

• Aurora Cannabis Inc ACB: down 1.3 percent

• CannTrust Holdings Inc CNTTF: up 6.5 percent

• Canopy Growth Corp CGC: down 3.4 percent

• Cronos Group Inc. CRON: up 12.8 percent

• Curaleaf Holdings Inc CURLF: up 17.5 percent

• Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd TGODF: up 5 percent

• Green Thumb Industries Inc GTBIF: up 35.8 percent

• GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR GWPH: up 12.2 percent

• Hexo Corp HYYDF: up 22.2 percent

• iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc ITHUF: up 10.5 percent

• Marimed Inc MRMD: up 17.8 percent

• MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMNFF: up 25.4 percent

• OrganiGram Holdings Inc OGRMF: up 24.3 percent

• Scotts Miracle-Gro Co SMG: up 6 percent

• Tilray Inc TLRY: down 7.4 percent

In Other News

The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF added three more companies to its portfolio: Khiron Life Sciences Corp KHRNF, Auxly Cannabis Group Inc CBWTF, and MediPharm Labs Corp MLCPF.

According to a report published by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, federal cannabis prosecutions are declining are laws in states where marijuana has been legalized come into effect. Roberts said the number of “defendants accused of crimes associated with marijuana decreased 19 percent” year-over-year.

“It makes sense that as more Americans have opportunities to buy the marijuana they consume from legal businesses instead of on the criminal market, the latter would shrink and federal cannabis cases would go down. The new data seems to bear out what legalization advocates have been saying for years,” Tom Angell, publisher of Marijuana Moment told Benzinga.

Marijuana Moment reported on Pennsylvania lawmakers gearing up to push for full legalization of cannabis this legislative session.

“2019 is just getting started, but signals are pointing to this being the biggest year yet for marijuana policy reform, especially with lawmakers in so many states poised to pass legalization bills with the support of new governors,” Angell said.

Green Flower is moving into mainstream cannabis content with the announcement of a new partnership with leading producer and entertainment executive Michael Luisi. Luisi will develop and produce a new suite of  cannabis content for mainstream network, cable and streaming media platforms. Luisi is a seasoned producer with over 40 motion picture and television productions to his credit. He formally held senior executive positions at The Walt Disney Company DIS and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. WWE. 

Black Belt CBD, makers of CBD-based performance training supplements, is sponsoring a free monthly anti-bullying seminar for kids and Girl Power self-defense clinic, both hosted by UFC fighter Justine Kish. On the first Saturday of each month, kids of all ages and female-identified folks are invited to learn valuable safety and self-esteem skills, free of cost and hosted at Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu studio in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“As a female CEO, it is incredibly important for me to empower women and girls to build their confidence and help them grow into the leaders our communities need,” Black Belt CBD Founder Krista Whitley said. “Our vision is to expand these seminars throughout the United States thanks to our 80+ Black Belt CBD gym partners from coast to coast. Together, our gym partners and I believe we can make a lasting positive impact in our communities.”

Biome Grow Inc. BIOIF started trading on over the counter, while also keeping its stock on the CSE, where it trades under the ticker “BIO.”

CannAmerica Brands Corp CNNXF, an intellectual property company and portfolio of cannabis brands, completed its first week of trading on the OTCQB Venture Market.

“There is a golden opportunity for investors looking at the cannabis industry for long-term stability as a commodity in the market,” said Dan Anglin, CEO of CannAmerica Brand. “Laws and regulations are changing, allowing for new products in the marketplace and opportunities for operation expansion. We look forward to sharing our story with investors in the U.S. and drive sustainable long-term shareholder value through a diversified brand portfolio and multifaceted distribution strategy."

Cannabis banking firm Mazakali posted a list of five things to watch in cannabis in 2019. CEO Sumit Mehta highlighted the following topics:

• Banking and 280(E) resolution

• Hemp

• Canada

• Market balance

•  Asia

Check out the full story in our cannabis section.

It’s been five years since Colorado commenced sales of recreational cannabis. The state’s market has grown to operate over 549 recreational dispensaries as of Oct. 1, 2018. Tax revenue from marijuana sales has also increased annually from 2014, raising over $247 million in 2017.

Kyle Speidell, co-founder and co-CEO of The Green Solution, a company with 17 dispensary locations in Colorado told Benzinga:

“Legal recreational cannabis use in Colorado just celebrated its fifth birthday. That’s a monumental achievement for the industry – in those years we’ve confirmed that the system works, and that people have embraced change. Moving forward, the trend will move towards product improvements: refinement, testing, and packaging are evolving daily to produce more user-friendly and consistent products.”

Find out more about these news and others on Cannex Capital Holdings Inc CNXXF, Green Growth Brands and Sunniva Inc SNNVF 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

According to data from Eaze.com, California consumers bought 12 percent more cannabis via delivery on Christmas Eve, compared to a typical Monday in 2018.

Christmas Day saw a 22-percent decrease in deliveries compared to a typical Tuesday, likely indicating California cannabis consumers were stocking up for the holiday beforehand.

New Year's Eve witnessed a 32-percent increase in deliveries compared to typical Monday in 2018, while New Years Day saw an 11-percent surge in deliveries, likely indicating consumers stocked up with cannabis to help with the hangover.

Viridian Capital Advisors reported M&A and investment numbers for 2018, and marijuana companies saw investments of more than $13.8 billion last year, compared to $3.5 billion in 2017.

Events Calendar

January 15–16: Benzinga will host its second Cannabis Capital Conference, this time on Miami Beach, Florida. This networking event for institutional capital and the leading cannabis companies will feature company presentations, panels and keynotes by Giadha Aguirre de Carcer, Danny Moses, Tim Seymour, Jon Najarian, Alan Brochstein and many others. Get tickets here.

February 19: Accelerate Cannabis is an educational and networking event for anyone interested in cannabis, to learn about the New Jersey market and meet their peers from around the country. It also presents an opportunity for representatives of the nation’s top cannabis firms and brands interested in breaking into New Jersey. Hear from data scientists, application consultants, local government experts, ancillary business owners, and cannabis brand leaders as they discuss how New Jersey is prepared for adult-use legislation and the expansion of the medical program.

Photo by Javier Hasse.