TM Editors' Note: This article discusses penny stocks and/or microcaps. Such stocks are readily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence.

Readers were introduced to this new index last week (see here) with details on what each of the 13 cannabis-centric clinical-stage biopharmaceutical constituents were focusing on in their respective areas of research but no comparisons of monthly/YTD stock performances were included. This week such comparisons are made with specific details of each company's activity, if any, during the month of April to assist those considering investing in this marijuana sub-category.

The details are as follows, in descending order, for the month of April (with YTD in brackets) and hyperlinks to each company's web site and stock information provided by TalkMarkets..: 

1. Tetra Bio Pharma Inc. (TBPMF): +126.7% to $0.34/share; (+126.7% YTD); Beta: 1.9; Mkt. Cap: $51M
   • announced that the Company has been granted a Health Canada Drug Establishment License to distribute REDUVO soft gel capsules in Canada.
   • announced that it has shipped the investigational new drug, QIXLEEF -  a botanical drug product with a "fixed ratio" of THC and CBD which is inhaled through a vaporizer - to the USA for the initiation of the REBORN1 study to find an alternative to morphine sulfate immediate release in the management of breakthrough pain
   • announced the granting of a new patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that covers a method for the treatment of interstitial cystitis.
2. InMed Pharmaceuticals (IMLFF): +13.7% to $3.74/share; (+8.1% YTD); Beta: 2.2; Mkt. Cap: $33M
   • announced that it undertaking a voluntary delisting of its common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange but will continue to have its common shares listed and tradable on the Nasdaq under “INM” at the close of trading on or about May 7, 2021.
   • announced that it has filed Clinical Trial Applications in Austria, Israel, and Serbia as part of Phase 2 clinical trial of INM-755 (cannabinol) cream in Epidermolysis Bullosa. 
   • announced that its IntegraSyn cannabinoid manufacturing approach has achieved a level of 2g/L cannabinoid yield, a milestone that signals commercial viability and supports advancement to large-scale production in the coming months.
3. Revive Therapeutics (RVVTF): +2.6% to $0.39/share; (-20.4% YTD); Beta: 2.0; Mkt. Cap: $94
   •  announced it has filed an application with the FDA to receive Orphan Drug Designation for psilocybin to treat moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.
   • announced the filing of a U.S. provisional patent application with The United States Patent and Trademark Office on an oral thin-film delivery system with psilocybin as a potential treatment option for mental illness, neurological, and substance abuse disorders.
4. Skye Bioscience (SKYE): N/C @ $0.12/share; (+200.0% YTD); Beta: 0.3; Mkt. Cap $42M
   • no noteworthy news
5. Vitality Biopharma (VBIO): N/C @ $0.18/share; (+200.0% YTD); Beta: 3.7; Mkt. Cap: $9M
   • no noteworthy news
6. MGC Pharmaceuticals (MGCLF): N/C @ $0.05/share; (+150% YTD);  Beta: 2.3; Mkt. Cap: $114M
   • no noteworthy news
7. Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (ZYNE): -5.2% to $4.41/share; (+33.6% YTD); Beta: 2.6; Mkt. Cap: $173M
   • no noteworthy news
8. Nexien Biopharma (NXEN): -8.3% to $0.11/share; (+22.2% YTD); Beta: 3.0;Mkt. Cap: $7M
   • no noteworthy news
9. Corbus Pharmaceuticals (CRBP): -8.6% to $1.80/share; (+44.0% YTD); Beta: 1.9; Mkt. Cap: $219M
   • announced that the last participant has enrolled in a Phase 2 study of lenabasum for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, a systemic autoimmune disease affecting more than 200K Americans.
10. Cannabics Pharmaceuticals (CNBX): -16.7% to $0.20/share; (-4.8% YTD); Beta: -0.7;Mkt. Cap: $25M
    • announced the launching of a new research program for the development of a Melanoma antitumor targeting medicine.
    • announced that the company has obtained a license from the Israeli Ministry of Health to conduct scientific research using psilocybin in the company's in-house laboratory facilities in Rehovot, Israel.
11. Artelo Biosciences (ARTL): -19.0% to $1.32/share; (+80.0% YTD); Beta: 1.5;Mkt. Cap: $17M
    • announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Company’s Phase 1/2 study of a much-needed therapy for cancer patients suffering from anorexia and weight loss, which affects over 60% of later-stage cancer patients, often impacts the quality of life, and can hasten death.
12. Zelira Therapeutics (ZLDAF): -20.0% to $0.04/share; (-333.3% YTD); Beta: 1.4; Mkt. Cap: $62M
    • no noteworthy news
13. Enveric Biosciences (ENVB): -22.5% to $2.38/share; (-44.1% YTD); Beta: 1.88; Mkt. Cap: $50M
    • developing a robust pipeline of products with multiple data points expected in 2021 for radiodermatitis, glioblastoma, and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.

The Index was -6.5% in April but is +7.8% YTD. The average stock price was $1.16 with average volatility (beta) of 1.9x the S&P 500 average and an average market cap of only $69M. (GW Pharmaceuticals, with an Mkt. Cap: $46.9B, is not  included in the new Index as it already has a product in commercialization and, as such, is not a clinical-stage company.)

Measuring Volatility

Beta measures the volatility (the up and down movement) of a stock relative to the overall stock market and serves as a measure of the volatility of a stock compared to others in the same sector. What you see below, in summary, are the 4 most stable stocks in the munKNEE Cannabis-Centric BioPharma Stocks Index and the 9 most volatile, in descending order:

• The Most Stable (0.7 to 1.5): Cannabics; Skye; Zelira; and Artelo
• The Most Volatile (1.8 to 3.7): Enveric; Corbus; Tetro Bio; Revive; InMed; MGC; Zynerba; Nexien and Vitality  

Cannabis & Cannabis-related Index Performance Comparisons

munKNEE.com tracks the performance of five (5) cannabis categories and below is a comparison of how each index performed in April and YTD which we think provides the clearest overview of the cannabis stock sector that is available anywhere:

1. The Conservative Pot Stock Index of 8 constituents tracks the performance of the major consumer and pharmaceutical companies that have bought into marijuana companies.
   • It was +1.7% in April and is +6.4% YTD with an average Beta of 0.96 (See the latest Index details here)
2. The Ancillary Pot Stocks Index of 16 constituents tracks the performance of companies that provide goods and services to cannabis operators.
   • It was -0.1% in April and is +13.2% YTD and with an average Beta of 2.2 (See the most recent Index details here)
3. The American Pure-Play Multi-State Operators Pot Stock Index of 22 constituents tracks the performance of those multi-state marijuana companies that derive 100% of their revenue from the sector and trade for at least US$1/share.
   • It was -2.0% in April and is +38.1% YTD with an average Beta of 2.69 (See the most recent Index details here)
4. The Cannabis-Centric BioPharma Stocks Index of 13 constituents tracks the stock performance of those clinical-stage bio-pharmaceutical companies involved in the development of drugs using CBD and THC exclusively:  
   • It was -6.5% in April and is +7.8% YTD with an average Beta of 2.9. (See the details of the index here.)
5. The Canadian Pure-Play Licensed Producers Pot Stock Index of 8 constituents tracks the performance of those Canadian producers that derive 100% of their revenue from the marijuana sector and trade for at least US$1/share:
   • It was -12.6% in April but is +42.4% YTD with an average Beta of 2.11 (See latest index details here.)

The above 5 non-tradable indices replicate the performance of a portfolio investing an equal amount of money in each company in the various cannabis categories, with daily rebalancing to maintain equal weight, to serve as benchmarks to measure the performance of individual stocks compared to their respective index. A sum total of 67 cannabis and cannabis-related companies are tracked out of a universe of approximately 200 (i.e. 33.5%) and, on average, they declined marginally (-0.6%) in April but are still +14.6% YTD.