IIPR spread out to 19 U.S. states with latest acquisition
Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks and look ahead to how the cannabis industry continues to shape up in 2021.
Investor interest in the cannabis industry is growing at an explosive rate, and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier, especially in the United States. More than 40 U.S. states legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana by the end of 2020. Now, companies are starting to see the opportunity in cannabis cultivation, marketing, distribution, and technology.
Here is a quick roundup of major (and action-worthy!) cannabis stock news from this week:
☎️ On Monday, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ:ACB) announced the rescheduling of its leadership team's conference call to discuss Q4 and the full fiscal 2021 financial results. CEO Miguel Martin and CFO Glen Ibbott will now host the presentation on Monday, September 27, at 5:00 pm ET.
Then, on Tuesday, Aurora Cannabis confirmed that its shutting down another facility and this time eliminating 8% of its global workforce in Edmonton, Alberta. ACB will move its medical cannabis distribution to Aurora Sky, an Ontario factory. According to an Aurora spokesperson, "We aspire to be a leaner, more agile organization that keeps pace with our competition and is on a path to profitability."
🕺🏿 Leadership changes were announced by GrowGeneration Corp. (NASDAQ:GRWG) on September 20. The hydroponics brand added Eula Adams to its Board of Directors effective on Monday. According to GRWG's CEO and Co-Founder Darren Lampert, "We believe that Eula's strong background in technology, operations, and finance, as well as a proven track record in driving business growth will add tremendous value to GrowGeneration."
🛒 Popular cannabis-centric real estate investment trust,
Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR) inked deal to
acquire Missouri property in order to build out 83,000 square feet of industrial space with a price tag on the deal of $1.53 million on September 20. This property investment in Missouri marks the 19th state in which IIPR has a footprint in the cannabis space. Concurrent with this acquisition, Innovative Industrial Properties
entered into a long-term lease with a subsidiary of Calyx Peak, Inc.
🤑 Stem Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:STEM) announced on Monday that it had completed the acquisition of Artifact Extracts, a cannabis extraction known for its award-winning concentrates. This acquisition is geared toward gaining additional market share in the fast-growing cannabis concentrates market. As STEM continues on its path to increase its footprint of fully-owned dispensaries on the West Coast, the cannabis brand also announced the acquisition of two more dispensaries.
⚖️ On the same day that Canopy Growth Corporation (NASDAQ:CGC) held its annual general meeting this year, Canopy's Chief Legal Officer, Phil Shaer, resigned from his position. CGC announced the resignation on September 21 along with notification that the interim Chief Legal Officer will be James Wishart, currently vice president and associate general counsel, effective October 1.
✊ E-commerce giant, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) released some cannabis-centric news on Tuesday. In line with its previously announced decision to end drug testing for cannabis, this decision will come with retroactive action. Any former employees or former applicants who were terminated or rejected due to a positive drug test for THC will have their employment eligibility restored. According to Beth Galletti, AMZN's Senior VP of Human Resources, "Pre-employment marijuana testing has disproportionately affected communities of color by stalling job placement and, by extension, economic growth, and we believe this inequitable treatment is unacceptable.”
Amazon also stated that the e-commerce brand will be lobbying Congress in support of federal cannabis legalization in a further effort to promote nondiscriminatory hiring practices.
🏥 Finally, on Thursday, Anebulo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANEB) released its fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 financial results. The cannabinoid-centric biotechnology company went live on the Nasdaq Capital Market on May 7 after closing its initial public offering (IPO). ANEB confirmed that the biotech company is on schedule to launch Phase 2 clinical trial with ANEB-001 for the treatment of acute cannabinoid intoxication in the Netherlands. According to Daniel Schneeberger MD, CEO of Anebulo, "As the number of emergency department visits related to cannabis intoxication continues to increase by approximately 15% annually, we believe there is a significant unmet medical need for our drug candidate."