Aurora Cannabis

Green Thumb is a rising star

Illinois-based Green Thumb Industries owns two retail cannabis stores, Rise and Essence. The company manufactures and distributes a variety of popular medical and recreational cannabis products through these storefronts under brand names like Dogwalkers, Dr. Solomon's, and Rythm.

Marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis was hit with a shareholder class action lawsuit in New Jersey federal court Thursday after analysts were caught off guard by plummeting sales.

The Canadian company, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2018, has operations in 24 countries. Aurora and Coca-Cola announced in September that they were studying the market for cannabis-infused beverages. But on Nov. 14 Aurora said its sales had fallen 25% and marijuana sales to consumers fell 33% in the three months ending on Sept. 30.

Cannabis stocks sunk lower on Monday, continuing the sector's downward trend as investors reeled from a series of high profile setbacks in the industry. William O'Neil and Co. cannabis analyst Andrew Kessner said that although a loss of momentum in the cannabis sector could dissuade more tentative investors from diving into the space, tempered valuations ー particularly in the U.S. and in second tier Canadian cannabis stocks ー could prove attractive.

Few industries have been kicking tail and taking names more so than marijuana. Having long been considered an illicit substance that was cast aside by legislators around the globe, cannabis is now a legitimate business model. Globally, over 40 countries have given medical marijuana the green light, with two (Canada and Uruguay) also allowing the recreational sale of the drug.

Looking for winning marijuana stocks? Two that probably should be on your short list are Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) and Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG). Shares of Aurora have soared more than 80% so far this year, while Scotts Miracle-Gro stock is up more than 35%.

• New Jersey legislators joined Democratic Governor Phil Murphy in announcing Tuesday a bill that would allow adult-use marijuana in the Garden State.
• The announcement included an outline of proposed taxes and an "expedited expungement process" for individuals convicted of low-level marijuana offenses.
• Many of the largest cannabis companies in the world rallied Tuesday following the announcement from the Democratic governor.

Both Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) and Hexo Corp. (NASDAQOTH:HYYDF), formerly known as Hydropothecary, have given investors a roller-coaster ride so far in 2018. Hexo shareholders have probably enjoyed the ride more.

The U.S.-listed stocks of Canadian producers Canopy Growth (ticker: CGC),Aurora Cannabis (ACB), and Tilray (TLRY) are sinking. Since Monday, when Aurora reported a 333% sales jump from its year-ago quarter, its New York Stock Exchange–listed stock has slipped 18%, to US$6.16.

Weed stocks were sliding from their post-election peaks Thursday as worries surfaced that the successor to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions could also be against legal marijuana.

Pot stocks rallied on Wednesday, with Tilray surging more than 30%, after Michigan became the 10th US state to legalize marijuana and as Jeff Sessions, a long-term opponent of legal weed, resigned as the US's attorney general. In January, Sessions rescinded an Obama-era policy directing states to make their own decisions on cannabis without federal.

Canadian pot company Tilray rallied 30 percent on news that U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions would step down.

Already lifted by midterm ballot measure victories, Tilray and other cannabis companies rose further on word Sessions had resigned. The nation's top law enforcer last January said he would work to revoke policy from the Obama administration that let states make their own rules on weed without hindrance from the federal government.

Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis, two other publicly traded Canadian pot companies, both rallied more than 8 percent.