Aphria shares pop after short-seller Andrew Left moves to sell stake

Shares of Aphria Inc (NYSE:APHA) gained traction in pre-market trade Monday in the wake of famed short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research announcing he would take profits on the Canadian cannabis company.

In a tweet on Friday, Left said he was exiting his position in Aphria as the stock had gained more than 60% since his call a month ago.

Taking profits on $APHA. Stock up 60% since call a month ago. Canadian Weed has run too far moving into in US names. $CRON short with stock trading 70% above analyst tgt. As CIBC noted “sophisticated investors are beginning to shift capital to U.S operators.”

— Citron Research (@CitronResearch) February 1, 2019

On December 18, Citron forecast in a report that Aphria would jump to $8 before the end of 2018. 

Left’s prophecy has come true and before the opening bell on Monday, Aphria shares were up 5.9% at US$10.19.

In its most-recent tweet, Citron also said it was focusing investing effort on US cannabis stocks, writing “Canadian weed” has “run too far”. Left also said he was shorting cannabis rival Cronos Group Inc (NASDAQ:CRON), which has seen its shares ramp up by more than 50% since the tobacco giant Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) agreed to take a US$1.8 billion stake in the company last December.

READ:Short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research sounds off: take profits in Aphria, short Cronos Group

Cronos shares were trading 3% higher before the opening bell at $21.46 despite Left’s move to go short.

A string of good news has also served to boost Aphria shares in recent days. On Friday, Aphria revealed it would be one of the first cannabis producers to sell its own cannabis in Europe by announcing it had transferred plant cuttings from four weed strains to its Danish partner Schroll Medical.

Aphria shares also saw a boost, thanks to a Bloomberg report saying that Green Growth Brands is flexible and open to negotiations about its unsolicited bid for the Canadian cannabis company. Under the deal’s current terms, Ohio-based Green Growth has offered Aphria stakeholders 1.5714 shares of Green Growth stock for each Aphria share.

Contact Ellen Kelleher at [email protected]

Story by ProactiveInvestors