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 before advancing in March. In April, it soared on the last day to finish the month up 14.7% sequentially at 11.72. Despite the good news from the DEA, the index plunged in May. In June, it moved lower before bouncing, ending down 8.9% to 8.61:
In 2023, the index ended down 16.5% to 8.11. In Q1, it rose 26.0%, and it was down 15.8% in Q2. The index is up 6.2% so far in 2024:
Since the peak in February 2021, the Global Cannabis Stock Index has dropped 90.7% from the 92.48 closing high:
The strongest 3 names in June all rose by more than 6%:
- Kaival Brands Innovation (NASDAQ: KAVL): +24.0%%
- iSpire Technology (NASDAQ: ISPR): +13.3%
- NewLake Capital Partners (OTC: NLCP): +6.0%
Kaival Brands Innovation plunged in May and soared in June. iSpire surged 30.5% during Q2, while NewLake ended up 5.0%.
The 3 weakest names in June all fell by more than 24%:
- Lexaria (NASDAQ: LEX): -28.5%
- Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ: ACB) (TSX: ACB): -25.4%
- Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: CGC) (TSX: WEED): -24.4%
Lexaria was one of the strongest names in May, and it is now down 47.4% in Q2. Aurora Cannabis ended the quarter up 5.2%. Canopy Growth was strong in April but down sharply in May. It was down 25.3% in Q2.
The index was rebalanced as of quarter-end based on the prices and volumes a week earlier. The index will decline by 1 to 28 members. Returning to the index are Akanda (NASDAQ: AKAN), Emerald Holding (NYSE: EEX), iPower (NASDAQ: IPW), Leafly (NASDAQ: LFLY) and WM Technology (NASDAQ: MAPS). Exiting due to price and/or volume issues are Ascend Wellness (OTC: AAWH) (CSE: AAWH.U), AYR Wellness (OTC: AYRWF) (CSE: AYR.A), Cannabist (OTC: CBSTF) (NEO: CBST), iSpire, Planet 13 (OTC: PLNH) (CSE: PLTH) and TerrAscend (OTC: TSNDF) (TSX: TSND).
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 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.
