A new agreement between state lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo is big cannabis news today, putting New York state on track to legalize recreational marijuana. However, cannabis stocks haven’t moved much on the news, perhaps in part because it will be many months from when legislation is signed to when the first recreational sales begin.
GrowGeneration (NASDAQ:GRWG) stock is down 3.3% in intraday trading, while Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) stock is up 1% for the day, though it traded at a discount much of the morning. Meanwhile, Aphria (NASDAQ:APHA) stock is up 1.5% in intraday trading. Sundial (NASDAQ:SNDL) stock is up 6.2% today, after closing Wednesday down 7.5% and declining further in the morning.
Part of the reason these stocks were indifferent to the news out of New York may be because these are all Canadian licensed producers (LPs) that don’t yet operate in the U.S. However, a number of U.S.-based multi-state operators (MSOs) saw their stocks slightly down today, including Curaleaf (OTCMKTS:CURLF), Green Thumb Industries (OTCMKTS:GTBIF), Trulieve Cannabis (OTCMKTS:TCNNF) and Cresco Labs (OTCMKTS:CRLBF).
Market analysts and fund managers focused on cannabis see state and federal legalization of marijuana in the U.S. as more beneficial for American MSOs than for Canadian LPs. However, American cannabis companies are unable to list their stocks on mainstream U.S. exchanges because marijuana remains illegal at a federal level, which perhaps explains the relative popularity of their NASDAQ-listed Canadian counterparts.
SNDL stock was on the decline yesterday following an agreement to sell $800 million worth of Sundial stock. On Wednesday, GrowGeneration reported Q4 2020 earnings that beat sales expectations and raised its full year outlook. This follows the company’s eighth acquisition so far this year as GRWG stock continues to diversify. And investors shouldn’t forget that the merger between Aphria and Tilray is fast approaching.
On the date of publication, Vivian Medithi did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
