Tilray’s price target ditched by Roth Capital due to ‘unprecedented volatility’

Canadian cannabis company Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) has set the space ablaze with its shares swinging wildly.

The stock’s dramatic movement has Roth Capital analyst Scott Fortune feeling a little dizzy.

READ: Tilray trading halted twice after stock rallies to record at US$300 before profit-taking kicks in

The analyst reiterated a Neutral rating but removed Tilray’s price target due to “unprecedented volatility,” according to a note shared by TheFly.com.

Tilray’s shares were trading around $29.10 on August 15, the day that beer producer Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) upped its investment in fellow Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC, TSX:WEED).

The $4 billion investment sent shockwaves through the entire marijuana market, lifting Tilray’s shares as well.

Tilray shares continued to rise as it inked supply deals left and right, climbing past the $40 mark, the $50 mark and so on.

About a month after the Constellation deal, Tilray’s shares had jumped to $109.05 from $29.10, but the best was yet to come.

READ: Tilray is the latest pot stock to come under attack from short-seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research

On September 18, the company received approval to import a cannabinoid study drug for a clinical trial at the University of California San Diego.

The following day, Tilray’s stock was halted a total of five times coupled with a 150-point trading swing that brought its shares to an intra-day high of $300.

As profit-taking kicked in, its shares tumbled back down to $100 a few days later.

Fortune notes that short-sellers are particularly interested in Tilray, but the small number of outstanding shares means fewer to loan out.

Short-seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research changed its once-bullish tune on Tilray, stating that the stock was too expensive.

Citron LOVED $TLRY at $26 but now we are SHORTING stock. Cowen lowered est and still raised tgt $62 only shows “RETAIL INVESTORS GONE MAD” and forgot $TLRY went public at $17 – 6 weeks ago. We would expect an equity raise at these levels. By far most expensive in space.

— Citron Research (@CitronResearch) September 4, 2018

Short interest in Tilray was valued at $385 million last week with the number of shares shorted totaling 3.57 million, according to analytics company S3 Partners.

$TLRY short interest is $385 mm, 3.57 mm shares shorted, 34.63% of float. #Tilray shares shorted decreased by 45k over the last week, in no way a short squeeze as the stock was down 7% & shorts were up $128 million in mark-to-market profits. Borrow costs cheaper @ 50% to 70% fee. pic.twitter.com/e7RTrySMne

— Ihor Dusaniwsky (@ihors3) September 26, 2018

Rumors of mergers and partnerships, most recently spurred by Coca-Cola’s interest in the cannabis space, further fuel the volatility.

Shares of Tilray were down more than 4% to $157.42 in Tuesday Morning trading.

The British Columbia-based cannabis company cultivates and distributes medical cannabis to 12 countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Germany.

Story by ProactiveInvestors