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 and moved lower in June. In July, it moved higher, ending up 5.9% to 9.12:
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 12.5% so far in 2024:
Since the peak in February 2021, the Global Cannabis Stock Index has dropped 90.1% from the 92.48 closing high:
The strongest 3 names in July all rose by more than 22%:
- Lexaria (NASDAQ: LEX): +47.1%
- Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ: ACB) (TSX: ACB): +33.1%
- Tilray Brands (NASDAQ: TLRY) (TSX: TLRY): +22.3%
Lexaria was one of the strongest names in May and one of the weakest names in June. Aurora Cannabis had a strong Q2 despite being one of the weakest stocks in June. Tilray Brands is still down sharply in 2024.
The 3 weakest names in July all fell by more than 20%:
- Kaival Brands Innovation (NASDAQ: KAVL): -37.3%
- Akanda (NASDAQ: AKAN): -35.1%
- iPower (NASDAQ: IPW): -20.2%
Kaival Brands was very strong in June. Akanda and iPower joined the index at the end of June.
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.
