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Your Weekly Hit of Cannabis Stocks on the Move
By: Schaeffer's Investment Research | August 6, 2021

• Louisiana passed cannabis decriminalization legislation this week

• IIPR and HYFM announced major acquisitions this week

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.

News broke on Monday that Louisiana has officially decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use, effective August 1. This changes possession of personal cannabis up to 14 grams from a felony to a misdemeanor. Over in Midwest, for the first time ever, lawmakers submitted proposed legislation to decriminalize the possession of up to 5 ounces of marijuana on adults 21 years or older and to legalize the personal growth of up to 12 cannabis plants.

Here is a quick roundup of major (and action-worthy!) cannabis stock news from this week:

On Monday, Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR), the first and only cannabis-focused real estate company on the NYSE, announced its $6.5 million acquisition of land in Illinois that IIPR will lease to 4Front Ventures Corp. to build a 250,000 square foot cannabis cultivation and processing facility.

Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYFM), a major player in the manufacturing and distributing of all things related to hydroponics, announced yet another acquisition with a price tag of $83 million on August 3. HYFM added Greenstar Plant Products, a Canada-based plant nutrition manufacturer, to its ever-expanding portfolio of products that support controlled environment agriculture, or CEA.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) released its financial results for the second quarter of 2021 after the market closed on August 4. JAZZ, an international biopharmaceutical company developing medications for serious diseases through the usage of cannabis derivatives, reported a 34% year-over-year increase in Q2 total revenue alongside its acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals. The company anticipates the launch of phase 3 of its Epidiolex® trial focused on the treatment of epilepsy with myoclonic atonic seizures in the first half of 2022. According to Jazz Pharmaceuticals' chairman and CEO Bruce Cozad, "As we enter what we expect to be a period of sustained growth, I have never been more excited about the future for Jazz."

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) announced its financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2021 on August 4 and reported earnings of $3.98 per share, beating estimates by a margin of $0.46. SMG, a leader in the production of hydroponic growing products which are key to the production of cannabis, also announced its $65 million acquisition of HydroLogic Purification Systems. According to chairman and CRO, Jim Hagedorn, "Our U.S. consumer business continued to excel despite a modest decline in sales compared with last year’s record levels."

On August 4, SweetWater Brewing Company, a subsidiary of Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), announced its plans to expand into the state of Michigan just a few weeks after announcing its expansion into Colorado. SweetWater's core line of craft beer will now be available in Michigan including its 420 Extra Pale Ale, its HAZY IPA, its SweetWater Oasis Premium Hard Seltzer and its 420 Imperial IPA.

Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR) also released Q2 earnings this week, after the closing bell on Wednesday. Innovative Industrial Properties reported an EPS of $1.64 and outperformed earnings estimates by a slight margin of $0.09. IIPR also announced a 101% year-over-year increase in revenue for Q2.

Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), one of WallStreetBets' darlings, launched medical marijuana edibles on Thursday, August 5. The edibles will be available in chocolate and soft chew gummies in Canada. According to Tilray President Jim Meiers, “Tilray continues to deliver the benefits of cannabis safely and reliably in unique formats that suit patients’ needs."

On Thursday afternoon, Akerna Corp (NASDAQ:KERN) stock jumped nearly 10% on the news that KERN has entered into an exclusive partnership with the Medicinal Cannabis Authority in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In this partnership, Akerna will provide the Medicinal Cannabis Authority with a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to improve the medical marijuana program's ability to comply with recent regulations. Once this CRM is developed, it will be able to be replicated worldwide to meet various cannabis program regulations.

Before the bell today, Canopy Growth Corporation (NASDAQ:CGC) reported its Q1 of fiscal 2022 financial results. The shares of CGC are down 2.5%% to trade at $18.66 at last check, despite the cannabis name reporting a surprise fiscal first-quarter profit, driven by lower costs and strengthening demand for marijuana.

Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CRON) released its Q2 of 2021 financial results ahead of the market open this morning. CRON's results included a 58% year-over-year increase in net revenue and a substantial $15.8 million gross revenue loss compared to Q2 of 2020. Along with an earnings per share miss by a margin of $0.07 compared to Wall Street expectations, Q2 results were pretty grim for CRON.

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