Marijuana News Today: Pot Stock Market Stages Huge Rally…

Marijuana News Today

Across the board, pot stocks have been rallying hard today. Also in the marijuana news today, we’re seeing a rise in the usage rate of weed among U.S. college students.

A recent University of Michigan survey found that about 43% of full-time college students said they consumed some form of cannabis at least once in the past year, up from 38%. An additional 25% said they did so in the previous month, up from 21%. (Source: “Marijuana use by U.S. college students up, highest in 35 years,” The Associated Press, September 5, 2019.)

These are the highest rates of college student marijuana usage in 35 years of the survey.

Vaping marijuana is also on the rise, hitting 11% in the previous month, more than doubling since 2017.

These are very good numbers for the legal marijuana industry. The growth in pot usage speaks to the declining stigma surrounding the drug. Combined with legalization in many states across the country and you have a situation where it’s getting easier to openly purchase and consume pot.

And what’s good about this particular demographic that, if they take a liking to marijuana at an early age, there’s a decent chance they will keep it in their routines later, potentially beating out alcohol as their recreational drug of choice.

What we’re seeing is the beginning of a massive culture shift in the U.S., transforming from an anti-marijuana nation into a country that readily accepts pot as just another substance that can be taken safely for fun.

As is often the case though, politicians are slow on the uptake. They are far behind on this issue, seeing as how the majority of Americans support pot legalization in one form or another.

As for pot stocks, these survey numbers give us a glimpse into the already present and continuously growing consumer base in the U.S. for cannabis. We’re going to see each generation become progressively more familiar and comfortable with pot, and therefore likelier to be repeat customers throughout their lives.

What that means is that the legal marijuana industry could very well grow for an entire generation as children are brought up in a country where marijuana has always been legal. And that’s great news for marijuana stock investors.

CGC Stock

The big marijuana news today, however, is not focused on the future or surveys, but on hard numbers in the present. We saw huge gains in the marijuana stock market this morning.

With the summer almost behind us, it appears that those hot and hazy days had been hurting pot share prices. September so far has been a welcome reprieve from the marijuana correction that we were mired in just a month ago.

Weed stock prices were climbing rapidly this morning and have been doing so for the past week. One company that has come out on top—and is now engaged in full-on damage control—is Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC).

Canopy Growth stock soared six percent in early-morning trading today and is up 16% over the past five days.

CGC stock certainly needed the boost After the company fired CEO Bruce Linton and refocused on profits to the exclusion of growth, I was wary of the company’s future. So too were investors, with the stock plummeting in the direct aftermath of that announcement.

Combined with an overall skittish market, Canopy Growth stock saw much of its 2019 gains wiped out in the span of a few months.

But now the company has come out swinging, looking to capitalize on the current momentum in the market to help reassure investors and put CGC stock back on its proper trajectory. The company’s interim CEO, Mark Zekulin, has been on a media offensive, spreading the good word about Canopy Growth.

Recently, he’s been talking about some of the next moves for the company. “We need to see more stores come online and we need to see the value-add ‘Cannabis 2.0’ products come in,” said Zekulin in an interview. (Source: “Canopy CEO eyes ‘big prize’ ahead of legal edibles,” BNN Bloomberg, September 5, 2019.)

He added, “For us, when we talk about those products, we have over 50 different products in the pipeline that we’re developing: From chocolates, to vape pens to, of course, beverages.”

Zekulin also spoke about the firing of Linton during the interview, saying that, while abrupt, it came down to a difference of opinions and that Canopy Growth was bigger than just Linton.

“There is a big prize at the end of this,” Zekulin said. “The cannabis sector is still in its infancy. You have a market that is globally going to be worth many hundreds of billions of dollars.”

The company also held a presentation at the Barclays 2019 Global Consumer Staples Conference. In the presentation, CFO Mike Lee expressed confidence that the company will hit its revenue guidance. That helped assuage investor fears, leading to the resurgence we saw on the stock market today. (Source: “Canopy Growth: Key Takeaways from Its Investor Call,” Market Realist, September 5, 2019.)

While I’m not as bullish as I once was on Canopy Growth stock, there is still a lot of potential locked within it. If the company can navigate the uncharted waters ahead with a new CEO and without forgoing growth too much at the expense of early profits, then I could see CGC stock once again rise to prominence.

OGI Stock

Another big winner on the pot stock market today is OrganiGram Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OGI).

I’ve written several articles lately detailing why I am so bullish on OGI stock right now. The short version: its price. OrganiGram stock is trading at a bargain price at the moment, and that won’t last forever.

This is a stock that many considered undervalued before the recent marijuana stock market correction. Now that OrganiGram shares have had a significant fall, I have little doubt that we’ll be seeing investors very hot on OGI stock in the near future.

OrganiGram stock climbed nearly eight percent in early-morning trading today and is up 19% over the past five days.

CRON Stock

The third winner (there were too many to discuss them all here) that we’ll be covering in the marijuana news today is Cronos Group Inc (NASDAQ:CRON). Cronos stock climbed nearly six percent in early-morning trading today and finds itself up 11% over the past five days.

CRON stock, like many other pot stocks, has been benefiting from the lower prices in the marijuana stock market following the correction.

But the company hasn’t been quiet, either, announcing the closing of an acquisition deal yesterday. Cronos Group closed the acquisition of four Redwood Holding Group, LLC operating subsidiaries. (Source: “Cronos Group Inc. Closes Redwood Holding Group Acquisition,” GlobeNewswire, September 5, 2019.)

The move provides Cronos Group with a U.S. hemp-based product platform with a cannabidiol (CBD)-infused skincare line, among other products. 

Finding a way into the U.S. CBD market is critical for future gains, and CRON stock will likely benefit from this move for a while yet.

CGC, CRON, and OGI Stock Performances

The performances of CGC stock (black line), CRON stock (blue line) and OGI stock (red line) over the past week are seen in the chart below:

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

Analyst Take

The marijuana news today is the best it has been in months.

We have been seeing major gains across the pot stock market, and this could very well be when the market turns around and gets back to its winning ways.