After a 57.4% rebound in Q1 followed by a narrow decline in April, Cannabis stocks, as measured by the Global Cannabis Stock Index, gave up substantial ground in May, declining 13.3%:

The index, which had 64 qualifying members during the month following the quarterly rebalancing at the end of March, declined 54.9% in 2018 but has rallied 43.9% since the 2018 low set on December 24th. The year-to-date gain through May is 34.4%:

Bucking the downward trend, all with positive returns, were:

• Namaste Technologies (TSXV: N) (OTC: NXTTF): +23.9%
• Alcanna (TSX: CLIQ) (OTC: LQSIF): +11.4%
• 48North Cannabis (TSXV: NRTH) (OTC: NCNNF): +10.2%
• Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG): +5.3%
• GW Pharma (NASDAQ: GWPH): +2.3%
• Flowr Corp (TSXV: FLWR) (OTC: FLWPF): 2.2%
• MediPharm Labs (TSXV: LABS) (OTC: MEDIF): +1.6%
• Neptune Wellness Solutions (TSX: NEPT) (NASDAQ: NEPT): +1.2%

Nine names fell by more than 25% during May:

• Westleaf (TSXV: WL) (OTC: WSLFF): -45.4%
• TILT Holdings (CSE: TILT) (OTC: SVVTF): -35.5%
• Cannex Capital (CSE: CNNX) (OTC: CNXXF): -33.5%
• Khiron Life Sciences (TSXV: KHRN) (OTC: KHRNF): -31.8%
• Charlotte’s Web (TSX: CWEB) (OTC: CWBHF): -31.7%
• India Globalziation Capital (NYSE American: IGC): -29.7%
• Endexx (OTC: EDXC): -26.9%
• Agraflora Organics Intl (CSE: AGRA) (OTC: PUFXF): -26.4%
• Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY): -25.9%

We have also published separate review of the performance of the American Cannabis Operators Index:

• American Cannabis Stocks Drop 13.1% in May

We will summarize the index performance again in a month. You can learn more about the index members and the qualifications for inclusion by visiting the Global Cannabis Stock Index. Be sure to bookmark the page to stay current on cannabis stock price movements within the day or from day-to-day.

New Cannabis Ventures maintains six proprietary indices designed to help investors monitor the publicly-traded cannabis stocks, including the Global Cannabis Stock Index as well as the Canadian Cannabis LP Index and its three sub-indices. The sixth index, the American Cannabis Operator Index, was launched at the end of October and tracks the leading cultivators, processors and retailers of cannabis in the United States.

Exclusive article by Alan Brochstein, CFA

Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email