Adding to a 29% gain in Q2 despite a pullback in June, the American Cannabis Operator Index rocketed higher in July, increasing 26.7% to 34.53:
The index, which launched at the end of October 2018 with a value of 100, reached a closing high of 124.16 a week later before declining to 70.64 in late December 2018. It then rallied as high as 119.53 in early April 2019 before selling off over the balance of the year, ending 2019 at 43.27. The index has now dropped 20.2% in 2020. After posting an all-time closing low on March 18th at 14.50, the index has now bounced by 138.1%:
During July, the index included 16 companies, including 13 multi-state operators (MSOs) and 3 focused solely on CBD extracted from industrial hemp. 11 companies posted double-digit percentage gains, with three gaining more than 50%:
The four best performing stocks included Planet 13 Holdings, (CSE: PLTH) (OTC: PLNHF), cbdMD (NYSE American: YCBD), TerrAscend (CSE: TER) (OTC: TRSSF) and Curaleaf Holdings (CSE: CURA) (OTC: CURLF). Planet 13 was the second best performer in June and is now up more than 43% in 2020. The company further expanded its own branded products during the month and announced the pending acquisition of an additional cultivation and production facility in Las Vegas. cbdMD was among the strongest performers for the third month in a row and is now up 46% year-to-date. During July, it announced two celebrity marketing sponsorship partners. TerrAscend, which is up more than 46% year-t0-date, opened its fourth The Apothecarium dispensary in Northern California, in Berkeley, its first in the East Bay. It will be hosting an Investor Day on August 6th, an event that will include a moderated fireside chat with David Klein, the CEO of strategic investor Canopy Growth. Curaleaf Holdings, which posted a small gain during the challenging month of June, closed the acquisition of Grassroots Cannabis. The stock has rallied almost 34% in 2020.
The four worst performing stocks included Charlotte’s Web (TSX: CWEB)(OTC: CWBHF) Vireo Health (CSE: VREO) (OTC: VREOF), CV Sciences (OTC: CVSI) and TILT Holdings (CSE: HARV) (OTC: HRVSF). Charlotte’s Web and CV Sciences were also among the weakest performing stocks in June, as the CBD space remains under pressure. Both stocks are down substantially year-to-date, with Charlotte’s Web declining 54.5% and CVSI off 37.5%. During July, CV Sciences announced its first non-CBD product. Vireo Health, which is down 44.6% in 2020, saw selling pressure following the expiration of the lock-up of shares from its March private placement. TILT Holdings reported its Q1 financials in July.
For August, the number of names in the index will increase to 17 with the removal of TILT Holdings, which we have included inadvertently (the majority of its revenue is from ancillary businesses), the return of 4Front (CSE: FFNT) (OTC: FFNTF) and the first-time inclusion of Jushi Holdings (CSE: JUSH) (OTC: JUSHF). We interviewed Jushi CEO Jim Cacioppo earlier this year.
In the next monthly review, we will summarize the performance for August and discuss any additions or deletions. Be sure to bookmark the page to stay current on American cannabis operators stock price movements within the day or from day-to-day.
