KERN and IIPR announce major acquisitions
Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks last week, and look ahead to how the cannabis industry will continue to develop in the 2021.
Investor interest in the cannabis industry is growing at an explosive growth rate, and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier, especially in the United States. More than 40 U.S. states legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana by the end of 2020. Now, more and more companies are starting to see the opportunity in cannabis cultivation, marketing, distribution, and technology.
Schaeffer's Investment Research was honored to be included in Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference at the end of February. You can catch the full segment by our very own senior market strategist, Matthew Timpane CMT, on Facebook. You can also check out this post if you are interested in more of the cannabis stocks we are watching here at Schaeffer's.
Here is a quick roundup of major cannabis stock news this week:
Akerna (NASDAQ:KERN), an enterprise software company, developer of the cannabis industry's first seed-to-sale enterprise resource planning (ERP) software technology (MJ Platform®), announced on March 11 that KERN has signed an agreement to acquire Viridian Sciences, a cannabis business management software system built on SAP Business One.
Longboard Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel, transformative medicines for neurological diseases, announced on March 11 that the pricing of its initial public offering of 5 million shares of its common stock will be set at a price to the public of $16 per share. The gross proceeds to Longboard from the offering will be $80 million.
cbdMD, Inc. (NYSE:YCBD), one of the nation's leading and most highly trusted and recognized cannabidiol (CBD) brands, announced on March 8 that the judge in the California class-action lawsuit in which cbdMD, Inc. was named a defendant has granted its motion and stayed the action until FDA completes its rulemaking and/or Congress passes legislation regarding the definitions, marketing, and labeling of CBD products.
Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY), a global pioneer in cannabis research, announced on March 10 that it has received the necessary approvals from New Zealand's Ministry of Health and the Medicinal Cannabis Agency to launch Tilray medical cannabis products across the country.
Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc.(NYSE:IIPR), the first and only real estate company on the New York Stock Exchange focused on the regulated U.S. cannabis industry, announced on March 11 that it completed the acquisition of a property in San Marcos, Texas and entered into a long-term lease with Surterra San Marcos LLC, which is a subsidiary of Parallel, one of the largest privately-held multi-state cannabis operators in the United States.
HEXO Corp (NYSE:HEXO) announced on March 11 that it has won a complete dismissal in the federal U.S. securities class action pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit had alleged that HEXO made material misstatements and omitted material information in its prior disclosures to investors regarding various issues, including but not limited to its estimated sales revenues during Q4 of 2019 and fiscal year of 2020, its supply agreement with the SQDC, and the facilities acquired from Newstrike.
Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZYNE), the leader in innovative pharmaceutically-produced transdermal cannabinoid therapies for rare and near-rare neuropsychiatric disorders, reported its financial results on March 10 for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2020. The net loss for the full year 2020 was $51.3 million, with a basic and diluted net loss per share of -$1.90.
Organigram Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:OGI) announced on March 11 a $221 million CAD strategic investment from a wholly-owned BAT subsidiary (NYSE:BTI). The BAT subsidiary has subscribed for approximately 58.3 million common shares of OGI, which represents a 19.9% equity interest on a post-transaction basis for total proceeds of approximately $221 million CAD at a price per share of $3.79 CAD, based on a five-day volume-weighted average price on the TSX ending March 9, 2021.