Buds & Duds: Cannabis stocks inch down on Monday but FSD Pharma shares surge on sales license

Cannabis stocks had lacklustre start to Monday, with stocks fairly flat across North American markets. 

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, dropped 1% to 234.9 points. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF was down 1.8% to C$18.24. The OTCQX Cannabis Index was down 1.6% at 728.9 points.

Buds

FSD Pharma Inc (CSE:HUGE) (OTCMKTS:FSDDF) shares soared Monday after it announced its wholly-owned subsidiary FV Pharma Inc had received its full sales license to supply and sell cannabis products, a key milestone for the licensed producer.

Shares of FSD were up 17.2% on Monday at C$0.17 in Canadian trading and up 17.4% higher at US$0.13 in New York. 

The full license, granted by Health Canada, went into effect on June 21, 2019 and is amended from its original sales license received in April 2019, the company said in a statement. FSD Pharma CEO Raza Bokhari said that achieving the full license is “much awaited positive news” for the company’s shareholders and stakeholders.

“I am grateful for their continued support and patience,” Bokhari said in a statement. “Everyone at our Cobourg facility has worked diligently under the leadership of Dr. Sara May, who deserves special recognition for her commitment to excellence. We can now serve the needs of patients who rely on medicinal cannabis products to manage a range of illnesses and diseases.”

READ: FSD Pharma granted full sales license from Health Canada to supply and distribute medicinal cannabis

Nextleaf Solutions Ltd (CSE:OILS) shares were on the rise Monday after it announced it has bolstered its intellectual property (IP) portfolio by buying a US patent-pending hydrocarbon extraction process and award-winning formulation for a cannabis concentrate, known as shatter.

Shares of Nextleaf were up 3.3% at C$0.47. 

“Nextleaf is committed to acquiring and developing market-validated intellectual property pertaining to formulations and methodology to produce unique cannabis oils and concentrates. By acquiring this patent pending BHO extraction process and award-winning shatter formulation, Nextleaf adds valuable IP to its portfolio of innovative processes and formulations for THC and CBD based products,” said CEO Paul Pedersen in a statement. “This acquisition allows Nextleaf to diversify its intellectual property portfolio, as consumers in legal recreational and medical states consistently illustrate increased consumption of hydrocarbon concentrates.”

READ: NextLeaf bolsters its IP with patent pending extraction process and formulation for cannabis concentrate

Namaste Technologies Inc (CVE:N) (OTCMKTS:NXXTF) and True Leaf Brands Inc (CSE:MJ) (OTCMKTS:TRLFF) announced Monday that the two companies have signed an agreement to distribute True Leaf’s pet products through Namaste’s online dispensary platform.

True Leaf’s hemp-based supplements will be the first pet product sold on Namaste’s platform CannMart.com as part of the Vernon, BC-based company’s strategy to expand its direct-to-consumer distribution network.

Namaste’s shares were up 3.3% on Monday at C$0.62 and True Leaf was trading 2.4% higher at C$0.42. On the OTC markets, investors sent Namaste’s shares 6.5% higher at US$0.48 and True Leaf is up 5.3% at US$0.32.

READ: Namaste and True Leaf join forces to sell hemp-based pet products directly to consumers

Duds

Canopy Growth Corporation (TSE:WEED) (NYSE:CGC) stock continued to drop Monday, after the company posted a wider-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss last week despite beating revenue estimates.

On Monday, the firm announced it had received a new licence from Health Canada to grow cannabis at an outdoor site in northern Saskatchewan. The firm said hours after receiving the licence, the first cannabis cuttings were planted at a 7 million sq/ft (160 acres) secure cultivation field in the province.

Shares were down 3.2% at C$51.56 in Toronto, off 2.7% at US$39.08 in New York.

Other laggards Monday included Charlottes Web Holdings (TSE:CWEB) (OTCMKTS:CWBHF), which was down 5.9% at US$13.88 in New York. 

Last week, the hemp CBD-extract focused firm reported it had upped its planting for the 2019 growing season, in order to meet growing demand from consumers and retail partners. The firm said total acres planted for 2019 was boosted to 862, an 187% increase from its 300 acres planted in 2018.

Also dropping Monday was Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY), with shares down 5.3% at US$47.75 in New York. 

Contact Katie Lewis at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @kelewis

Story by ProactiveInvestors