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CRB Monitor Cannabis-Linked Securities January 2021 Update
Published on March 15, 2021

James B. Francis, CFA
Managing Director of Publicly Traded Securities Research, CRB Monitor

CRB Monitor tracks nearly 1,300 publicly-traded, Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) globally, which have 1,500+ traded securities. We categorize CRBs into our proprietary cannabis risk tier framework and cannabis-based sectors. CRB Monitor also unravels and maintains complex corporate structures, linking publicly-traded parent companies to their underlying operational plant-touching subsidiaries. Custodian banks, broker/dealers, and asset managers find our data essential for pre-trade compliance, risk management, index construction, and portfolio analytics. 

CRB Monitor Securities Updates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Source: CRB Monitor

Cannabis Securities News Highlights 

As investors contemplated the implications of the blockbuster merger between Tier 1B CRB Tilray (NAS: TLRY) and Tier 1A CRB Aphria (TSX: APHA), a new, equally compelling M&A deal emerged in the first few weeks of the year.  Tier 1B Cresco Labs Inc. (CSE: CL) announced their acquisition of Florida-based, vertically-integrated Tier 1B CRB Bluma Wellness Corp. (CSE: BWEL.U), in a deal worth $213 million. Our hunch that the TLRY/APHA deal could just be the beginning of a trend is becoming a reality, as the albeit smaller Cresco/Bluma Wellness acquisition is a significant event, as it indicates Cresco’s desire to expand into new states. This move into Florida gives Cresco a 7-state footprint in addition to the Province of Ontario.

Furthermore, in the announcement Cresco’s acquisition of Bluma Wellness anticipates the long-awaited legalization of adult-use cannabis in Florida, a bill for which was introduced in the Florida House of Representatives in January 2021.

Of the thousands of cannabis security news releases and regulatory filings reviewed in January 2021, our research resulted in a total of 391 updates to the CRB Monitor database (60 updates to issuers’ records, 331 news releases added). The complete list of securities and detail for these updates is available to CRB Monitor Securities database clients, but below are highlights.

Select M&A/Subsidiary Highlights: 

Name

Ticker Symbol

CRBM Tier

Event

Ionic Brands Corp.

CSE: IONC

Tier 1B

Ionic Brands Corp. Signs Letter of Intent for the Purchase of Assets from The Extraction Lab

C21 Investments, Inc.

CSE: CXXI

Tier 1B

C21 Announces Divestment of Non-Core Assets in Oregon

Columbia Care Inc.

NEO: CCHW

Tier 1A

Columbia Care Expands Southern California Presence Through Acquisition of The Healing Center San Diego

Sproutly Canada, Inc.

CSE: SPR

Tier 1B

Sproutly Enters into LOI with CannaHive Inc

Cresco Labs Inc.

CSE: CL

Tier 1B

Cresco Labs to Expand Into Florida Through Acquisition of Bluma Wellness Inc.

Harvest Health & Recreation, Inc.

CSE: HARV

Tier 1A

Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. Announces Sale Leaseback Transaction with Innovative Industrial Properties

Subversive Real Estate Acquisition REIT LP

NEO: SVX.U

Tier 2

Subversive Announces Qualifying Transaction with InterCure, Israel's Leading and Fastest-Growing Cannabis Company

Nutritional High International Inc.

CSE: EAT

Tier 1B

Nutritional High to Acquire California Vertically Integrated Cannabis Operator OutCo Labs

Trulieve Cannabis Corp.


CSE: TRUL

Tier 1B

Trulieve CEO Hypes Up New Florida Dispensary — Its 73rd Sunshine State Store

 

Security/Exchange Highlights:  

Name/Ticker Symbol

Ticker Symbol

EVENT Type

Result

Kona Gold Solutions, Inc.

OTCQB: KGKG

Name Change

Kona Gold Beverage, Inc. - Name Change 

Zoetic International PLC

OTCQX: ZOEIF

New Listings

OTC Markets Group Welcomes Zoetic International PLC to OTCQX

TILT Holdings Inc.

OTCQX: TLLTF

New Listings

TILT Holdings Upgraded to OTCQX(r) Best Market

Omnicanna Health Solutions, Inc.

OTC Pink: ENDO

Name Change

OMNICANNA Announces Brand and Name Change to Thermic Sciences International (TSi) in Light of its Back-to-Back Groundbreaking Acquisitions of Thermic Coating Systems Ltd., and Cannabis Science Inc.

Youngevity International, Inc.

OTC Pink: YGYI

Delisting

Youngevity International, Inc. Receives Notice of Nasdaq Delisting

Halo Collective Inc.

NEO: HALO

Name Change

Halo Labs Inc. Announces Name Change to Halo Collective Inc.

Numinus Wellness Inc.

TSXV: NUMI

New Listing

Numinus Announces Listing of Warrants

Skye Bioscience, Inc.

OTCQB: SKYE

Name Change

Emerald Bioscience Launches Rebrand Including Name Change to Skye Bioscience

 

Risk Tier/Inclusion Updates in CRB Monitor:

Name

Ticker Symbol

Action

Reason

AMP German Cannabis Group Inc.

CSE: XCX

Upgrade –Tier 2 to Tier 1B

New medical cannabis distribution business

City View Green Holdings Inc.

CSE: CVGR

Upgrade –Tier 2 to Tier 1B

New Tier 1A subsidiary 

Diego Pellicer Worldwide, Inc.

OTCQB: DPWW

Upgrade –Tier 2 to Tier 1B

Acquired a share of a Tier 1B CRB

MJ Biotech, Inc.

OTC Pink: MJTV

Downgrade – Tier 1B to Tier 3

Subsidiary is Hemp/CBD only

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Select New Additions to CRB Monitor:

Name

Ticker Symbol

CRBM Tier

CRBM Cannabis Sector

SecurCapital Holdings Corp.

OTC PINK: CQER

Tier 2

Financial Services

Agrify Corporation

Nasdaq: AGFY

Tier 2

Professional Services

4Cable TV International, Inc.

OTC Pink: CATV

Tier 1B

Diversified Cannabis

Zonetail Inc.

TSXV: Zone

Tier 3

Professional Services

HempFusion Wellness Inc.

TSX: CBD.U

Tier 2

Online Wholesale & Retail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cannabis-Linked Equity Performance

January was a celebratory month for cannabis investors, as many CRBs resumed their surge that started in the fourth quarter prior to the November elections. Following December’s apparent round of profit-taking, and amid the chaos surrounding the installation of a new administration in Washington, we witnessed another cannabis-linked rally. Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED), the largest CRB by market capitalization, recovered from its recent negative news as investors pushed its price more than 60% higher in the month of January. This dramatic spike in WEED’s stock price followed the announcement by CEO David Klein that he had revised earnings expectations based on his earlier statement that the US cannabis market would open up at the federal level, due to passage of the MORE Act, as early as 2022.  

Also in strong recovery mode was Cronos Group (TSX: CRON), a company that has not fared well among its competitors, but given balance sheet support to the tune of $1.8 billion from parent company Altria (NYSE: MO), and perhaps a lift from the sector, investors poured their money into CRON stock, which rebounded in January with a breathtaking 49% return for the month. And we are watching the follow-on effects of the merger between Tier 1B CRB Tilray (NAS: TLRY) and Tier 1A CRB Aphria (TSX: APHA), which evidently had investors scrambling to grab a share of this brass ring: In January alone, TLRY was up 120% while APHA returned 76%, an indication that the sentiment surrounding this merger was overwhelmingly positive.  

GW Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: GWPH) rebounded in January as well, having returned a negative 17% in December and prior to the early February of its takeover by Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ). With the assumption that the market did know about the M&A deal, GW Pharma’s unaudited financials projected better-than expected 4th Quarter 2020 earnings, and analysts were generally bullish on the company’s near-term strategy. With that said, GWPH stock posted a 32% return for January 2021.

Following its stunning 161% return in 2020, Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) continued to impress in January, posting a 26% return as they enlarged their dispensary footprint in Florida with grand openings in Gainesville, Sebastian, and Summerfield, bringing their total to 73. Analysts are not cooling their jets over Trulieve’s earnings, which are projected to grow significantly in 2021, per Yahoo Finance.  

The CRB Monitor Top 10 Tier 1 cannabis-linked equities started the year up nearly 29% in January on an equally-weighted basis, significantly outperforming major equity indexes (US large cap, International, Emerging Markets), which generally underwhelmed to start the year.

CRB Monitor “Top 10” Tier 1 Cannabis Companies 

Source: CRB Monitor, Sentieo

Source: CRB Monitor, Sentieo

CRBs In the News

We started 2021 with an active month for news related to publicly-traded cannabis companies. The following is a sampling of highlights from the January 2021 cannabis news cycle, as tracked by CRB Monitor.  Included are CRB Monitor’s proprietary Risk Tiers

Wondering what a Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 CRB is?

See our seminal ACAMS Today white paper Defining "Marijuana-Related Business" and its update Defining "Cannabis-Related Business"

Interested in learning more about the CRB Monitor Securities Database? Visit our website to request more information and to  get in touch with our team.

The information provided herein presents general information and should not be relied on as legal advice. If you have specific questions regarding a fact, please consult with competent legal counsel about the facts and laws that apply.

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