TLRY expanded its footprint in the Australian medical marijuana market
Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks, and look at how the cannabis industry is shaping up as we kick off 2022. The world of cannabis saw massive growth in 2021 and 18 states plus D.C. officially legalized the adult-use of cannabis by the end of the year. Thirty-one states plus D.C. had taken decriminalization measures regarding cannabis by the end of 2021. As of late 2021, marijuana is classified at the U.S. federal level as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. In other words, cultivating, distributing, and possessing cannabis remains illegal at the federal level.
In addition, here is a quick summary of the major (and action-worthy!) cannabis stock news from this week:
We kicked off the week with Jupiter Wellness, Inc. (NASDAQ:JUPW) sharing its plan to dividend its wholly-owned subsidiary, SRM Entertainment, to its shareholders. Each Jupiter Wellness shareholder will receive one share of SRM Entertainment common stock for every four shares of Jupiter Wellness common stock owned. JUPT plans for SRM Entertainment to seek a listing on Nasdaq.
GrowGeneration Corp. (NASDAQ:GRWG), a leader in the hydroponics industry, opened its 63rd hydroponic garden center location on Monday. The new 25,00 square foot location is in Ardmore, Oklahoma. According to GrowGen, "In the three years since Oklahoma legalized medical cannabis, its over 9,000 licensed farms have surpassed the number of licensed farms in California and the number of retail cannabis locations in the state is more than Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, combined."
On Monday, Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ:FLGC) announced that Derek Pedro, a world-renowned cannabis genetics expert, has been appointed as an advisor to FLGC's wholly-owned subsidiary, Cosechemos. According to Flora Growth CEO, "As an internationally recognized industry expert and innovative cultivator, the appointment of Derek Pedro aligns perfectly with our goals to optimize our expanding Cosechemos facility operations and increase our varietal offering of cannabis flowers."
On Jan. 25, Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) dropped a press release regarding advancements in the medical marijuana market in Australia. TLRY is expanding its cannabis product line as well as launching an e-learning platform for medical staff to learn more about medical marijuana. According to Tilray, "After listening to patient feedback and leveraging learnings from our operations in Germany, we are excited to be introducing new products in Australia that meet consumer needs.”
The Valens Company Inc. (NASDAQ:VLNS) launched a revamped and upgraded version of its Verse value cannabis product brand on Tuesday. The launch of Versus includes two new product lines and a full rebranding of the Verse product lineup that was acquired by VLNS in September of 2021.
The most popular cannabis software name, Akerna Corp (NASDAQ:KERN), released its 2021 Cannabis Industry Year-End Review on Tuesday. Highlights included the top three sales days for cannabis in the United States: 4/20 was #1, Black Friday was #2, and Green Wednesday was #3.
On Wednesday, Clever Leaves Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVR) launched its first product lineup on the U.S. CBD market under the JoySol brand, the United States nutraceutical division of CLVR. According to Clever Leaves, JoySol will launch with high-quality CBD, minor cannabinoids and proprietary terpene blends at a mass-market-accessible price point.
Agrify Corporation (NASDAQ:AGFY) announced the signing of a securities purchase agreement with private accredited investors and an institutional investor. The agreement states that AGFY will sell 4.02 million shares to buy up to 3.02 million shares for the next five years at an exercise price of $7.48 per share. Shares and warrants will be sold at a combined exercise price of $6.80. As a result of this deal, Agrify expects gross proceeds of $27.3 million.
Canopy Growth Corporation (NASDAQ:CGC) launched a slew of new products under the company's Tweed brand on Thursday. The new cannabis products will be available in Canada.
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:REFI) large cannabis-centric commercial real estate financing name, announced the funding of a new $25 million senior secured credit facility to Sanctuary Medicinals LLC in Floria. REFI provided $10 million in funding on Thursday.
Finally, rounding out a crazy news week for cannabis stocks, High Tide Inc. (NASDAQ:HITI) released its unaudited financial results for the full year of 2021 on Thursday after the markets closed. HITI reported an 118% increase in annual revenue, jumping to $181.1 million CAD from $141.9 million CAD in 2020. For Q4, High Ride reported $53.9 million CAD in revenue marking a 117% increase year-over-year.