After soaring 62% in Q4 and then increasing over 50% to begin 2021, the Global Cannabis Stock Index fell 6.2% in March to 62.55:
The index, which had 38 qualifying members during the month following the quarterly rebalancing at the end of December, increased 5.2% in 2020 to 44.39 and is now up 40.9% in 2021.
After posting an all-time closing low of 16.95 set on March 18, 2020, the index has rallied sharply to end the month 269% higher but still down 65% from its early 2018 closing high at 180.02:
The strongest 4 names in March all gained at least 10%:
- The Valens Company (TSX: VLNS) (OTC: VLNCF): +59.7%
- Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG): +14.9%
- Organigram (TSX: OGI) (NASDAQ: OGI): 14.5%
- cbdMD (NYSE American): +10.7%
With its strong rally in March, Valens has now increased 67.7% in 2021. Scotts Miracle-Gro has gained 23.0%. Organigram’s shares have appreciated 160.9%, while cbdMD has gained 40.3%.
The 4 weakest names in March all declined by more than 23%:
- Vireo Health (CSE: VREO) (OTC: VREOF): -25.8%
- Acreage Holdings (CSE: ACRG.A.U) (OTC: ACRHF): -24.4%
- TerrAscend (CSE: TER) (OTC: TRSSF): -24.1%
- Taat Lifestyle & Wellness (CSE: TAAT) (OTC: TOBAF): -23.2%
Vireo Health, despite the loss in March, has gained 61.5% in 2021 thus far. Similarly, Acreage Holdings has gained 69.4%. TerrAscend has increased 1.3%, while Taat Lifestyle & Wellness has gained 16.5%.
We have also published separate reviews of the performance of the Canadian LP Index and the American Cannabis Operators Index:
- Canadian Cannabis Companies Advance 41% in Q1
- American Cannabis Operators Index Builds on 2020 Gains as It Advances 32% in Q1
At the end of March, we rebalanced the index and also made several adjustments, including the removal of PharmaCielo (TSXV: PCLO) (OTC: PCLOF) and the additions of 4Front Ventures (CSE: FFNT) (OTC: FFNTF), Agrify (NASDAQ: AGFY), Evogene (TASE: EVGN) (NASDAQ: EVGN), KushCo Holdings (OTC: KSHB), Power REIT (NYSE American: PW), Red White & Bloom (CSE: RWB) (OTC: RWBYF), RIV Capital (TSX: RIV) (OTC: CNPOF), Sundial Growers (NASDAQ: SNDL), The Parent Company (NEO: GRAM.U) (OTC: GRAMF), urban-gro (NASDAQ: UGRO) and Verano Holdings (CSE: VRNO) (OTC: VRNOF). The 48 stocks that now qualify had a minimum price of $1 and minimum daily average trading value across all exchanges of $1 million at the time of the rebalancing. We revised the qualification standards slightly by increasing the minimum average daily trading value on the American listing from $100K to $500K.
We provided an in-depth review of the updated index at 420 Investor. The index has changed dramatically over the past few quarters, with MSOs, now 33% of the index, and ancillary companies, now 27%, increasing, while Canadian LPs have become a smaller part of the index, now 23%. The balance is split between CBD (8%), biotech (6%) and international (2%).
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. A more complete analysis of the index is available at 420Investor.com. 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 seven 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 2018 and tracks the leading cultivators, processors and retailers of cannabis in the United States. More recently, we introduced the Ancillary Cannabis Index at the end of March 2021, reflecting the increasing number of publicly-traded companies providing goods or services to cannabis operators.
