Aphria and other marijuana stocks rose on Thursday after the Canadian cannabis producer reported a 10% sales jump in the second fiscal quarter, according to Yahoo!finance. Aphria’s sales of $126.57 million beat forecasted $119.39 million, raising the stock 21% to close at $12.11, the highest since November 2018.
- Aphria reported its quarterly results after merging with rival Tilray, potentially creating a global weed-industry giant.
- Most of Aphria’s revenue, 91.74 million Canadian dollars, came from CC Pharma, a German pharmaceutical and medical pot distributor bought in 2019.
- Around 67.9 million Canadian dollars came from cannabis, up 7% despite being slower than the 18% gain in the prior quarter.
- Other marijuana stocks posted notable gains with Canopy Growth up 7.6%, Cronos Group up 5.2%, while Aurora Cannabis added 9.6%.
- Since the U.S elections in November, marijuana stocks have rallied on prospects that a Democratic president and Senate would pass laws favoring cannabis companies.
- Analysts have, nonetheless, expressed concern about a deceleration in Aphria’s cannabis sales.
- Concerns are prevalent with the slowing growth from the Canadian adult-use business with the outsize contribution from global medical sales likely aiding profitability.
- Analysts also question whether Aphria’s U.S business, SweetWater, and Tilray’s U.S. CBD operations, Manitoba Harvest, which makes hemp foods like granola, are best positioned for broader U.S. legalization.
- Canadian cannabis companies seeking U.S expansion will also need to set up infrastructure, acquire licenses, and compete with local cannabis firms in multiple states.
Cannabis stocks are currently gaining. APHA is up 20.08%, TLRY is up 15.95% on premarket, WEED is up 7.13%, CRON is up 4.71%, ACB is up 8.87%.
