Pineapple Express (OTC: PNPL) was suspended by the SEC this morning.  The company, which is a member of the 420 Investor Cannabis Stock Index (as of 3/31/16), is a recent reverse merger involving the former principals of Medbox, now known as Notis Global (OTC: NGBL), including Vincent Mehdizadeh, who serves as an advisor and owns the majority of the company, and CEO Matt Feinstein.  The SEC suspension order stated:

The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of PNPL because of recent, unusual and unexplained market activity in the company’s stock that raises concerns about the adequacy of publicly-available information regarding the company.

Trading is expected to resume on May 12th.  The company recently reported an investment by Hustler founder Larry Flynt, whose daughter, Theresa Flynt, serves as VP, Business Development.

The company issued an update this morning prior to the suspension, reporting progress on its “Pineapple Park” project in the City of Desert Hot Springs, California.  It recently acquired the domain THC.com and also has a consulting relationship with a dispensary in Illinois.

PNPL, which does not file with the SEC but has stated its intention to do so,  reached a valuation in excess of $2 billion earlier this year.  Prior to the suspension today, the stock was still up substantially over the past few months  and still maintained a market cap of about $450mm.

Breaking News 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