The munKNEE Pure-Play Pot Stock Index went up 19.9% during the first week of 2021 with only 1 of 30 constituents declining. 7 constituents went UP +30%, 8 went UP +20% and another 6 went UP +10%. This article provides the details of those moves.

(For more information on the reason(s) behind the changes outlined below you are urged to click on the stock symbols provided. All currency amounts are in U.S. dollars. Go here to convert to another currency.)

Index Performance

The criteria for being included in the Index is that the stock is consistently trading for a minimum of US$1/share and generates 100% of its revenue directly from the sale of cannabis products.

Federal marijuana legalization in the U.S. is required for Canadian Licensed Producer (LPs) companies to be able to do business in the country and as such the Canadian pot companies cheered the final election results when the Georgia runoff for the final two Senate seats went to the Democrats.

The Canadian Licensed Producer (LPs) Category went up 24.5% in the first week of January, 2021 with all 10 stocks within the category advancing, in descending order, as follows:

1. Tilray (TLRY): +36.9% to $11.31/share
2. Cronos (CRON): +30.5% to $9.06/share
3. Hexo (HEXO): +30.4% to $4.80/share
4. Valens (VLNCF): +29.2% to $1.68/share
5. Organigram (OGI): +27.8% to $1.70/share
6. Aphria (APHA): +23.8% to $8.57/share
7. Canopy (CGC): +22.4% to $30.17/share
8. Aurora (ACB): +19.1% to $9.90/share
9. Neptune (NEPT): +17.9% to $1.84/share
10. Rubicon (ROMJF): +0.4% to $2.80/share

The Democratic sweep makes Chuck Schumer the majority leader, which is expected to mean there will be a vote on legalization, and the MSOs have responded positively in a major way to that likelihood.

The U.S. Multi-State Operator (MSOs) Category went up 22.1% the first week of 2021 with 18 of the 20 constituents advancing, 1 having N/C in price and 1 declining marginally (-4.3%), as follows:

1. Acreage* (ACRDF + ACRHF): +66.9% to $8.66 average
2. Charlotte's Web (CWBHF): +33.0% to $4.39/share
3. Vireo Health (VREOF): +31.8% to $1.95/share
4. Harvest Health (HRVSF): +30.1% to $2.81/share
5. Trulieve (TCNNF): +26.8% to $40.14/share
6. Ayr (AYRSF): +21.7% to $28.95/share
7. Harborside (HBORF): +21.0% to $1.90/share
8. Medicine Man (SHWZ): +20.4% to $1.83/share
9. Indus (INDXF): +19.3% to $1.36/share
10. Cresco (CRLBF): +13.9% to $11.24/share
11. Curaleaf (CURLF): +13.7% to $13.61/share
12. Green Thumb (GTBIF): +11.8% to $27.40/share
13. cbdMD (YCBD): +9.8% to $3.24/share
14. Planet 13 (PLNHF): +8.8% to $6.08/share
15. IM Cannabis (IMCNF): +7.0% to $2.13/share
16. C21 (CXXIF): +6.4% to $1.50/share
17. Columbia (CCHWF): +5.0% to $6.35/share
18. TerrAscend (TRSSF): N/C @ $10.05/share
19. Jushi (JUSHF): -4.3% to $5.61/share

*Canopy Growth's original deal was to buy 100% of Acreage Holdings when the U.S. federally legalized cannabis. That deal was recently amended and has resulted in the creation of two new share classes which began trading on the OTCQX on October 7, 2020, namely, Class D “floating” shares (ACRDF) and Class E “fixed” shares (ACRHF) In the new deal, Canopy will buy only 70% of Acreage at the fixed share price. The remaining 30% will float with the market enabling Canopy shareholders to participate in any upside in the stock. Canopy has the option to buy these shares if they so decide.

• Retail investors prefer the "fixed" share class because they know that Canopy will buy these shares while the "floating" shares are only an option to buy and if Canopy decided not to buy the "floating" shares they would become much less valuable.
• Analysts, however, have been using the "floating" shares for their basis of valuation - not the "fixed" shares.
• Given the confusion mentioned above, the "fixed" and "floating" shares prices are added together in the Index to better highlight and record the price trend of  Acreage within the pure-play market sector.

Further details regarding the equal-weighted munKNEE Pure-Play Pot Stock Index are as follows:

• Only 30 stocks qualify for inclusion in the Index out of a total of over 225 (pure-play and ancillary) trading on North American exchanges.
• The average market capitalization of the 30 constituents is US$1.5B, as follows:
  • 10 have market caps ranging between $1.0B and $10.0B;
  • 5 have market caps between $500M and $999M;
  • 12 have market caps between $100M and $499M and
  • 3 have market caps of less than $100M