Cannabis stocks turned mixed in afternoon trade Tuesday, but most of the bigger players remained higher, shrugging off the rout in the broader market as investors continued to sell off technology and internet stocks.
There was little news driving the gains, which come a week after the first crop of earnings from Canadian companies since cannabis was fully legalized for adult recreational use in October. The reports showed that companies have shipped far less than 1% of the cannabis the government has forecast Canadians will spend per quarter.
Among the few new developments, ICC International Cannabis Corp. KNHBF, -2.54% which trades on the U.S. over-the-counter market as well as on the Canadian Securities Exchange, said it is acquiring Green Gene Research Inc., a company that tests and grows weed, as well as developing proprietary seeds and strains. ICC is issuing 10 million shares and pay a finders fee to fund the deal, which is expected to provide it with multiple revenue streams. ICC shares were down 6%.
Canopy Growth Corp. CGC, -1.86% WEED, -1.35% was up 0.4%, but was off its early highs. Canopy is viewed as one of the stronger players in the new sector, thanks to a $4 billion investment from drinks giant Constellation Brands Inc. STZ, -1.38%
The company said Tuesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Spectrum Cannabis has joined Cannabis Standard, a platform that aims to help patients create “patient-powered research” to show the clinical benefits of medical cannabis. The platform is run by Reformulary Group, a Canadian health care, science and technology company.
Cronos Corp. CRON, -0.49% CRON, -0.82% was up 3.6%. Tilray Inc. TLRY, -2.59% was flat and Aphria Inc. APHA, -1.85% was up 1.3%. Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB, -0.99% ACB, +0.12% was up 1.5%.
Among the decliners of the session, MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMNFF, -15.99% was down 14%, a day after it said it had reduced a round of funding by nearly half as its chief financial officer resigned. In a statement, MedMen Chief Executive Adam Bierman said the change in the financing was related to a “global market selloff” and declined to comment on the CFO’s departure.
The Culver City, Calif., company’s stock has fallen 45% in the last month, making it the worst performer among the bigger weed companies.
Aleafia Health Inc. ALEF, -3.35% ALEF, -3.35% was down 2.5% and Green Organic Dutchman Holdings TGOD, -0.32% was down 0.4%.
The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, -2.03% was flat and the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF HMMJ, -1.98% was flat.
The S&P 500 SPX, -1.82% was down 1.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -2.21% was down more than 500 points, or 2.1%.
