Cannabis stocks, as measured by the Global Cannabis Stock Index, exploded higher in late August on news that the Department of Health and Human Services had recommended to the DEA that it move cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3, and the move continued into September. October wiped out the entire rally, and November and December saw the market recover some of the losses. In January, the rally continued, but it stalled in February. In March, the index rose 19.5% sequentially to 10.22:
In 2023, Q1 saw a 12.5% decline, and the index dropped 11.8% in Q2. The 22.3% gain in Q3 was the first positive quarter since Q1 of 2021, and Q4 saw it lose 11.6%. The index ended 2023 down 16.5% to 8.11, and it is up 26.0% so far in 2024:
Since the peak in February 2021, the Global Cannabis Stock Index has dropped 88.9% from the 92.48 closing high:
The strongest 3 names in March all rose by more than 42%:
- Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: CGC) (TSX: WEED): +162.3%
- SNDL (NASDAQ: SNDL): +48.5%
- Tilray Brands (NASDAQ: TLRY) (TSX: TLRY): +42.8%
The Canadian LPs were very strong during the month. After a rough start to the year, Canopy Growth has rallied 68.9% now. SNDL has gained 22.3%. Tilray Brands is up 7.4%.
The 3 weakest names in March all fell or rose by less than 1.3%:
- Ispire Technology (NASDAQ: ISPR): -39.4%
- Chicago Atlantic (NASDAQ: REFI): -3.2%
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ): 1.3%
Ispire, which priced a secondary offering during the month, has dropped 49.5% in 2024. REIT Chicago Atlantic is down 2.5%. Jazz Pharma has dropped 2.1%.
Effective after the close, the index will be expanding by 8 stocks that now meet the price and dollar-volume requirements. Joining the other 21 will be Ascend Wellness (OTC: AAWH) (CSE: AAWH.U), Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ: ACB) (TSX: ACB), Cannabist (OTC: CBSTF) (NEO: CBST), Glass House Brands (OTC: GLASF) (NEO: GLAS.A.U), High Tide (NASDAQ: HITI) (TSXV: HITI), Kaival Brands (NASDAQ: KAVL), Lexaria (NASDAQ: LEXX) and Planet 13 (OTC: PLNH) (CSE: PLTH).
We will summarize the index performance again in a month and also provide the quarterly revisions to the constituents. 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 four 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. 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.
