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This article outlines the differences between American MSO and Canadian LP companies, identifies the 12 largest publicly traded companies, and compares the performances of their stocks this past month of August and since the beginning of 2023.
 

What is the difference between the American MSO and Canadian LP cannabis industries?

Because cannabis remains federally illegal in the U.S. publicly listed multi-state operators (MSOs) have not yet been permitted to list publicly on major U.S. exchanges so they are mostly listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). This exchange has limited institutional investors due to technical restrictions for most institutions. This in turn drives less trading volume for CSE-listed companies.

On the other hand, because Canada legalized cannabis federally in 2018, Canadian-domiciled licensed producers (LPs) are able to access major U.S. exchanges and, as a result, Canadian players typically have higher trading volumes, more institutional investors, and lower cost of capital.
 

How do the performances of the largest MSO and LP stocks compare?

There are 20 publicly traded cannabis licensed producers (LPs) in Canada (source) of which only 5 have market capitalizations of at least $100M and they are tracked in our munKNEE Canadian Cannabis LPs Index. They are ranked below, in descending order, as to their stock performances in August and YTD.

1. Tilray (TLRY): UP 17.0% in August; DOWN 12.4% YTD
   • has a current short interest: 12.1% - A high short interest signals that investors have become more bearish and may be getting ready to sell and, as such, that it may be time to liquidate a long position.
   • Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) has a $100 million joint venture with Tilray and it was DOWN 0.7% in August and is now DOWN 5.1% YTD
2. Canopy Growth (CGC): UP 16.3% in August; DOWN x% YTD
   • Constellation Brands (STZ) has a 39% stake in Canopy Growth and it was DOWN 4.5% in August but it is still UP 12.4% YTD
3.  OrganiGram (OGI): UP 7.9% in August; DOWN 55.4% YTD
   • British American Tobacco (BTI) has a C$221M product development partnership with Organigram and it was DOWN 1.4% in August and is now DOWN 16.9% YTD
4. Cronos (CRON): UP 5.7% in August; DOWN 32.9% YTD 
   • Altria Group (MO) has a 45% stake in Cronos and it was DOWN 2.7% in August and is now DOWN 3.1% YTD
5. Aurora (ACB): DOWN 14.3% in August; DOWN 50.6% YTD
    

Summary

1. The munKNEE Canadian Cannabis LPs Index was UP 9.4% in August and is now DOWN 32.9% YTD.
   • The Global X Cannabis ETF (POTX) consists of the above 5 highlighted Canadian stocks plus another 12 cannabis or cannabis-related (i.e. auxiliary) stocks. It was UP 3.9% in August but is still DOWN 33.0% YTD.
2. The munKNEE Conservative "Cannabis" Stock Index consists of the 4 tobacco and beer companies with major investments in the cannabis sector as mentioned above and also Molson Coors Beverage and Imperial Brands and has an average dividend yield of 3.0%. It was DOWN 4.3% in August but is still UP 5.4% YTD.
   • The AdvisorShares VICE ETF (VICE) invests in "vice" industries which include alcohol and beer (43%), gaming and casinos (29%), tobacco and cannabis (17%), hospitality (6%) and other related business activities (5%) stocks. It was DOWN 5.0% in August but is still UP 4.4% YTD.

There are 68 publicly traded multi-state operator (MSO) cannabis companies in the U.S. (source) of which only 7 have market capitalizations of at least $150M and they are tracked in our munKNEE American Cannabis MSOs Index. They are ranked below, in descending order, as to their stock performances in August and YTD.

1. Columbia Care (CCHWF): UP 68.2% in August; DOWN 1.3% YTD
   • Read: Columbia Care Reports Favorable Q2 Financial Results
2. TerrAscend (TSNDF): UP 44.4% in August; UP 86.4% YTD
   • Read: TerrAscend's Q2 Financial Report Metrics Were Up Across The Board
3. Trulieve (TCNNF): UP 33.9% in August; DOWN 24.7% YTD
   • Read: Trulieve Q2 Revenue Plummeted 531% To $404M Loss
4. Green Thumb (GTBIF): UP 31.4% in August; UP 11.6% YTD
   • Read: Green Thumb Q2 Financial Results Were A Mixed Bag
5. Verano (VRNOF): UP 18.9% in August; UP 14.3% YTD
   • Read: Verano Q2 Financials Disappoint: Net Loss Increased By 42%
6. Curaleaf (CURLF): UP 2.2% in August; DOWN 2.8% YTD
   • Read: Curaleaf Q2 Financials Report 31% Increase In Net Loss
7. Cresco Labs (CRLBF): UP 0.6% in August; DOWN 9.7% YTD
   • Read: Cresco Labs' Q2 Financials Reflect Major Improvements In Operations
      

Summary

• The munKNEE American Cannabis MSOs Index was UP 24.5% in August and is now UP 0.8% YTD.
• The  AdvisorShares Pure U.S. Cannabis ETF (MSOS), which consists of the above 7 highlighted stocks plus an additional 41 smaller cap such stocks was UP 20.1% in August but is still DOWN 3.4% YTD.

Conclusion

Combined, the 12 largest North American publicly-traded cannabis company stocks were UP 20.8% in August and are now DOWN 9.4% YTD.

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