The biggest headline this week was Kamala Harris' pledge to decriminalize marijuana in the U.S.
Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks this week and we will look ahead at the pot stocks to watch in the upcoming week.
Investor interest in the cannabis industry continues to grow and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier. Right now, nine states and D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana and 29 states have legalized medicinal marijuana. Normally, when we talk "cannabis stocks," we are talking about companies that sell both recreational and medicinal cannabis. More and more companies, though, are starting to see the opportunity presenting in this quickly growing industry and we are continuing to see more marijuana initial public offerings (IPOs) on the calendar.
Here's a quick roundup of the cannabis sector news this week (Oct. 5 through Oct. 9):
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRBP), a clinical drug development company known for pioneering in transformative medicines that target the endocannabinoid system, announced on Thursday, that the company will restructure its workforce. This will be to reallocate capital to certain clinical and preclinical programs.
Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CRON), a globally-recognized cannabinoid company, announced on Monday that the company has released its leading medical marijuana brand, PEACE NATURAL, in pharmacies throughout Israel through its Cronos Israel distributor.
FSD Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:HUGE), a leading biotech pharmaceutical research firm, announced on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the initiation of a Phase 2 study of the use of FSD201 to treat COVID-19, also known as the "FSD201 COVID-19 Trial." The company is expected to start providing test dosages to patients this month.
Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR), the only publicly traded REIT that focuses on cannabis properties, announced on Monday, that it will be amending their lease agreement with a subsidiary of Green Thumb Industries. at a property located in in Toledo. The company offered additional funding of $25 million.
Intec Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ:NTEC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company made popular by its proprietary drug delivery system, announced on Thursday, that the company has entered into a new research collaboration agreement with Merck & Co. (MRK). The details of this agreement are currently being kept confidential. However, according to Intec Pharma, "This new agreement builds upon the relationship we have enjoyed in prior research and allows the companies to leverage their combined experience in delivery."
NewAge, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBEV) had a big week of press releases. First, the Colorado-based omnichannel social selling and distribution company announced on Monday that it had amended the merger agreement for the acquisition of ARIIX and that it expects to close the transaction no later than the end of November 2020. Then today, NewAge announced that the company has expanded operations to Brazil, one of the six largest direct-selling markets on the planet.
Aphria Inc. (NASDAQ:APHA), a leading global cannabis production company announced on Wednesday that the company has officially completed its first certified European shipment of dried flower from its Aphria One EU facility to its wholly-owned German subsidiary, CC Pharma GmbH. CC Pharma GmbH is a leading distributor of pharmaceutical products to over 13,000 pharmacies in Germany.
Aurora Cannabis, Inc. (NYSE:ACB), is a Canadian marijuana producer that is feeling the pressure under after it was publicly announced on Thursday that a federal securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, on behalf of investors that purchased Aurora Cannabis, Inc. securities between Feb. 13, 2020, and Sept. 4, 2020. This lawsuit contends that Aurora Cannabis made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose properly to its investors.
Perhaps the biggest news of the week for cannabis stock was released during the 2020 U.S. Vice Presidential Debate on Wednesday evening. Democratic Vice President nominee Senator Kamala Harris, pledged to decriminalize cannabis across the board if the Biden/Harris ticket makes it to the White House. That makes the November election even more critical to the growth of the cannabis sector, all the way up the federal level.
There are no notable earnings announcements expected in the cannabis sector at this time for next week.