Even in the wake of impressive year-over-year revenue growth, ACB is struggling
Shares of Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE:ACB) are down 2.6% at $7.10, erasing early gains, despite the pot company's impressive fiscal first-quarter earnings announcement. ACB said quarterly revenue increased 260% year-over-year, even though the quarter concluded before the Oct. 17 legalization of recreational marijuana use in Canada. “Given the strong unmet consumer demand evident across Canada, we are confident that our rapidly increasing production capacity will result in continued acceleration of revenue growth,” said CEO Terry Booth. Aurora is the first of several pot producers to report quarterly earnings this week.
On the charts, shares of the Canada-based firm opened at at $7.45 on Oct. 23 -- their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). ACB raced to a record high of $8.62 that day, before swinging to an all-time low of $5.39 on Oct. 30. However, the stock came back within striking distance of its highs last Wednesday, popping more than 9% after Michigan legalized the use of recreational marijuana in the U.S. midterm elections.
Analysts have remained bullish on ACB, with three out of four giving it a "buy" or better rating. However, the marijuana concern's less-than-stellar post-earnings reaction could leave it at risk for downgrades.
Plenty of shorts are likely cheering today's earnings reaction. Short interest represents nearly 8% of ACB's total available float. It would take roughly a week to buy back these bearish bets, at Aurora's average pace of trading.