At last count there were 225 cannabis and ancillary companies trading on the various North American stock exchanges but only 23 meet the criteria* for inclusion in the munKNEE  Pure-Play "Seed-to-Sale" Pot Stocks Index which consists of two sub-categories: the munKNEE Canadian Pure-Play Licensed Producers (LPs) Pot Stock Index and the munKNEE Pure-Play American Multi-State Operators (MSOs) Pot Stock Index. Which have performed the best so far in August and year-to-date: LPs or MSOs? This article has the answers.

*The criteria for inclusion in the munKNEE marijuana indices are vertically integrated (seed-to-sale) companies that derive 100% of their revenue from the sector, have a market capitalization in excess of US$300, and trade for at least US$1/share. Only 6 Canadian LP stocks and 17 American MSO stocks meet those criteria.

The  munKNEE Canadian Pure-Play Licensed Producers Pot Stock Index

• is -6.3% so far in August (MTD) and
• is now -4.0% YTD.
  • Its constituents are: Canopy (CGC), Tilray (TLRY), Cronos (CRON), Aurora (ACB), Organigram (OGI), and Hexo (HEXO).
    • 4 of the 6 constituents in the sub-category have changed in price by 5% or more MTD, namely:
      • Organigram: +10.7% MTD; now +118.0% YTD
        • Announce the appointment of Beena Goldenberg, formerly CEO of The Supreme Cannabis Company Inc.,  as the Company’s new CEO.
        • Completed the acquisition of Edibles & Infusions Corp. to bolster its cannabis 2.0 offerings.
      • Tilray: +9.0% MTD; now +61.0% YTD
        • Reported a positive net income in its latest Q4 financial report (see details here).
        • Launched medical cannabis edibles in THC and CBD-rich varieties of chocolates and soft chew gummies across Canada.
      • Hexo: -11.1% MTD; now -3.8% YTD
        • Applied to transfer its U.S. stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq effective August 23, 2021 after market close. 
      • Cronos: -12.2% MTD; now -6.8% YTD
        • Reported dismal Q2 financial results (see details here)

The munKNEE American Pure-Play Multi-State Operators Pot Stock Index

• is -3.2% MTD and
• is now +5.3% YTD.
  • Its constituents are: Curaleaf (CURLF), Green Thumb (GTBIF), Trulieve (TRSSF), Verano (VRNOF), Cresco (CRLBF, TerrAscend (TRSSF), Columbia (CCHWF), Harvest Health  (HRVSF),   Ascend Wellness (AAWH), Planet 13 (PLNHF), Ayr (AYRWF), Jushi (JUSHF), 4 Front (FFNTF), Charlotte's Web (CWBHF), Gage (GAGE),  Acreage (ACRDF & ACRHF) and Goodness Growth (GDNSF).
    • 8 of the constituents in the sub-category changed in price by 5% or more last week, namely:
      • Green Thumb: +7.3% MTD; now +29.2% YTD 
        • reported spectacular Q2 financial results (see details here).
      • Charlotte's Web: +5.3% MTD; now +2.1% YTD
        • reported favorable Q2 financial results
      • Acreage: -7.3% MTD; now -1.0% YTD
        • reported less than favorable Q2 financial results
      • Trulieve: -8.3% MTD; now -5.3% YTD
        • reported outstanding Q2 financial results (see details here)
      • Harvest Health: -8.7% MTD; still +56.0% YTD
        • reported much improved Q2 financial results (see details here)
      • Gage Growth: -9.2% MTD and is now down -24.6% since it began trading on April 6th.
      • Columbia Care: -9.6% MTD; now -26.3% YTD  
        • reported record Q2 financial results
      • Verano: -21.9% MTD and is now down -46.6% since it began trading on February 18th.
        • reported disappointing Q2 financial results (see details here).

In Summary:

• the munKNEE Pure-Play "Seed-to-Sale" Pot Stocks Index is -3.2% MTD and is now down to +5.3% YTD while 
  • the MSO sub-index
    • has outperformed the LP sub-index MTD at -3.2% vs. -6.3% and
    • has outperformed the LP sub-index YTD at +5.3% vs. -4.0% YTD.

The above non-tradable indices replicate the performance of a portfolio investing an equal amount of money in each company in the cannabis categories, with daily rebalancing to maintain equal weight.