The Week In Cannabis: Stocks Outperform S&P, Mexico Moves Forward, Earnings, And More

Cannabis stocks outperformed the S&P 500 this week. Over the last five trading days:

• The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (NYSE:MJ): gained 2.5%
• The AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF (NYSE:YOLO): was up 2.6%
• The Cannabis ETF (NYSE:THCX): advanced 2.7%
• The Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF (NYSE:CNBS): rose 4.2%
• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was down 0.35%.

Mexico

The Senate approved a landmark cannabis legalization bill in a landslide vote. Mexican Senate Committees voted on Wednesday and the measure went to the chamber for a vote on Thursday. Per Reuters, the initiative needs to pass another obstacle — the lower house of Congress. Legalization has a deadline set to Dec. 15. The bill will enable people 18 years and older to legally buy and own up to 28 grams of cannabis, and also to grow up to four plants for personal use, reports the outlet.

Canada

Legal cannabis sales in Canada hit C$256.3 million ($196.4 million) in September; Canadian cannabis companies received more than C$25 million ($19 million) from the federal government’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS); an Australian company sent cannabis oil to Germany, becoming the first to do so; and the top court in the European Union decided CBD derived from hemp does not count as a narcotic.

Earnings Reports

Helix Technologies Inc. (OTCQB:HLIX) announced year-to-date and third-quarter results, noting positive adjusted EBITDA in the quarter of $95,000. Year-to-date revenue jumped 13% from the prior year to $8.8 million, and the company also enhanced its year-to-date gross margin reaching 68%, versus 53% in 2019.

Mentor Capital Inc. (OTCQB:MNTR) posted Monday its third-quarter earnings with revenues of $1.23 million versus $1.07 million generated in the same quarter of 2019. The company also disclosed a net loss of $273,955 or a loss of 1.2 cents per share, which stands against a net loss of $336,816 or a loss of 1.5 cents per share in the third quarter of the prior year.

Acquired Sales Corp. (OTCQB:AQSP) reported third-quarter revenue of $1.51 million, up by 19% from the previous quarter. It has also reported a net income of $95,823, projecting to see an even higher net revenue in the fourth quarter.

Harborside Inc. (CSE:HBOR) (OCTQX: HBORF) beat its third-quarter projections generating roughly $19.6 million in gross revenue. That's up by 21.2% sequentially and 42.9% year-over-year.

Wholesale operations yielded about $8.9 million in revenues, while the company's retail department contributed around $10.7 million for the quarter.

Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ:EVGN) (TASE: EVGN) disclosed Wednesday its revenues for the third quarter were roughly $300,000 compared to around $100,000 in the corresponding period of 2019.

For the same quarter, research and development expenses amounted to $4 million versus $3.6 million, while business development expenses were around $600,000.

Cresco Labs Inc. (CSE:CL) (OTCQX:CRLBF) released its third-quarter results with record revenue of $153 million. That's a 63% jump from the previous quarter. This marks the Chicago-based company’s third quarter in a row with more than 40% of revenue growth.

Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE:CURA) (OTCQX:CURLF) reported revenue of $193.2 million for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30. That signifies a 164% year-over-year spike and a 59% improvement over the previous quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was also a quarterly record at $42.3 million — 305% more than last year’s and a 51% increase since the second quarter. The company also appointed Joseph Bayern CEO.

Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTC:MJNA)  generated $12.2 million in net revenue over the third quarter. That's a sequential increase of 11.25%.

Cannabis Sativa Inc. (OTCQB:CBDS) disclosed its revenue for the third quarter amounted to $459,786 and roughly $1.7 million for the nine months ended September 30. That's a year-over-year increase of 137%. PrestoDoctor, the Company's telemedicine platform, attributed with $1,602,599 in revenue for the nine months, as its GK Manufacturing and Packaging subsidiary remained in the start-up phase during the period.

Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE:TRUL) (OTCQX:TCNNF) released its financial results for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30. The company reported record revenue of $136.3 million. That's up by 13% from the previous quarter. It also achieved positive adjusted EBITDA of $67.5 million, which makes for half of revenue, and illustrates the 11^th profitable quarter in a row. Compared to the previous quarter adjusted EBITDA grew by 13%. Following the results, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Pablo Zuanic maintained an Overweight rating on the stock, raising the price target from $60 to $63.

Read all about these earnings reports and others in Benzinga Cannabis’ Earnings Center.

More News From The Week

Cannapreneur Partners, a cannabis investment firm specializing in early-stage startups, announced a joint venture with JWTC Wick and Noble Mana LLC, two veteran-owned and operated cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts.

Cannapreneur also announced that they made capital investments in the two dispensaries, which recently signed Host Community Agreements in the state. The JV plans to support veterans by supplementing the costs of cannabis products, giving back up to 10% of net profits to help enhance access to cannabis for veterans, and operating a veterans-focused mentorship program to help broaden veterans’ cannabis industry skill sets, open up key networks and provide more opportunities in the sector.

Parallel announced a national partnership with Cannaclusive, an organization created to facilitate inclusion for both business owners and consumers in the cannabis industry. This partnership will aim to address the social equity deficit in cannabis by driving consumer education and engagement through programs dedicated to highlighting inclusive organizations, panels and webinars.

“We feel it is our duty to advocate for the communities that have been historically excluded from the industry while also focusing on progression and overall education, and look forward to working with the Cannaclusive Team on helping to shape the future of our industry together,” Kim Napoli, Sr. director of corporate social responsibility and community at Parallel told Benzinga.

Seach Medical Group (TASE: SEMG.TA) became the first company in Israel to receive approval from the Israeli Ministry of Health for the commercial export of medical cannabis inflorescence. Israeli scientists have conducted research into the properties and medical applications of cannabis since the 1960s, with notable discoveries first made by Raphael Mechoulam and Yechiel Gaoni of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who first isolated THC from cannabis in 1964 and later discovered anandamide, and cannabis has been legal to use for medical purposes since the 1990s. In 2004, the Israeli military began experimental treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of soldiers.

In April 2017, the Israeli Ministry of Health gave medical cannabis companies the green light to start exporting their products. This export approval three years later marks the first commercial approval by the Israeli Minister of Health in its 15-year history. The product that was approved for export was manufactured by Seach's EU-GMP manufacturing partner, Panaxia pharmaceuticals Ltd and the importing destination is Australia, to Seach's partner Cannatrek Medical Pty Ltd. 

Benzinga Cannabis’ content is now available in Spanish on El Planteo.

PharmaCielo Ltd. (TSXV:PCLO) (OTCQX:PCLFO) announced a successful leap across the pond and into the bustling U.K. market. The company signed and enacted a supply agreement with a British wholesale distributor and white-label manufacturer in the cosmetic, wellbeing and food supplement sectors to provide medicinal-grade CBD isolates and broad-spectrum oils. The first commercial shipment of 500Kg CBD isolate was already completed with additional shipments underway by year-end and into the first quarter of 2021.

PharmaCielo CEO David Attard told Benzinga that “entering the U.K. market is a key step in our growth strategy to become a leading global supplier of bulk medicinal grade cannabinoid extracts to the pharmaceutical and wellness segments." 

All brands of Cannafame are now being distributed through Nabis in California. The CannaFame brands include Higher Frequencies, Hesh's 1913 and Generic Cannabis.

“As new brands in the crowded California market, establishing the proper partnerships is critical to our long-term success. As we begin to grow our presence, Nabis provides the necessary technical solutions and operational efficiencies needed to best service discerning consumers through participating dispensaries,” said Isaiah Orlen, CEO of CannaFame. 

My Green Network launched its first crowdfunding investment opportunity with MicroVentures. Investments as low as $100 are being accepted. "Our ever first crowdfund initiative open to the general public is aiming to lead a paradigm shift in cannabis investment into a new era where owning and being part of the licensed cannabis industry is no longer limited to a select few," James Shih, co-founder and CEO of My Green Network, told Benzinga. "We embrace investors to join our community and together we empower and incubate future leaders of the legal cannabis industry.”

Adara Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) targeting the consumer products industry and related sectors, filed with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. The Charlotte-based company, sponsored by hemp-derived CBD leader cbdMD (NYSE:YCBD) and private equity firm Blystone Donaldson, plans to raise $100 million by offering 10 million units at $10. Adara will focus on the consumer products industry, including wellness, e-commerce, and information technology. Adara, founded in 2020, plans to list on the NYSE American under the symbol ADRA.U.

Medical Marijuana Inc. subsidiary HempMeds announced this week that Raul Elizalde will become the sole CEO of HempMeds, overseeing all US and international operations. Matheus Patelli who previously served as Director of Marketing and Sales for HempMeds Brasil and U.S., has been promoted and will lead the company’s Brazilian operations as managing director.

“The United States has made a lot of progress in state legalization of medical cannabis and universal access to CBD but there is still much work to be done in Latin America and Europe," Elizalde told Benzinga. "I will do my best in this new role to ensure that HempMeds is a company that they can trust for high-quality, safe products.”

CBDCapitalGroup, a CBD nutraceuticals venture capital firm, announced that respected cannabis industry leader Kimberly Kovacs has joined the company’s Advisory Council. Currently, Kovacs serves as CEO of The Arcview Group and Chairwoman of Arcview Capital, a prominent cannabis investment firm and FINRA-registered broker. Previously she served as CEO and Founder of cannabis technology platform MyJane, which was acquired by Manifest 7 in 2019.

“Since founding this company, we have been focused on the power of diversity and adding intelligent, powerful women to our team. “We are steadily growing companies in the cannabis, health and technology industries and believe that adding Kimberly to our team is a great strategic move because she contributes the expertise we need to achieve further success,” said CBDCapitalGroup CEO David Metzler. 

Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. (CSE:HARV) (OTCQX:HRVSF) divested its Arkansas-based store and cultivation assets. The price tag of assets owned and operated by Natural State Wellness Dispensary LLC, and Natural State Wellness Enterprises LLC was $25 million.

Canadian cannabis giant Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB) (TSX:ACB) closed its overnight marketed public offering of units for total gross proceeds of $172.5 million. ATB Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets were the bookrunners for the offering.

The bullish case for cannabis company Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) can no longer be justified after the company's third-quarter earnings report showed stalling momentum in international markets, according to Jefferies. Owen Bennett downgraded Tilray from Hold to Underperform and lowered the price target from $5.60 to $4.77. A bullish stance on Tilray requires the company to "do very well" when legal cannabis accelerates internationally, Bennett said in a Monday downgrade note.

Vertical Wellness acquired The Organic Candy Factory. The Los Angles-based company confirmed it has acquired the California-based sweet maker in a stock transaction. Other financial details, however, remained undisclosed.

HempFusion Wellness will soon trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Denver-based hemp and CBD company will begin listing in late November, under the symbol CBD, after structuring a $17 million offering.

21 Investments Inc. (CSE:CXXI) (OTC:CXXIF) CEO Sonny Newman restructured the company’s secured note in his possession. Some $15.2 million worth of secured notes with a maturity due on Jan. 1 have been restructured and will be amortized over a 30-month term at the interest rate of 9.5%.

As Oklahoma's medical cannabis market expands rapidly, Cookies opted to join other retailers in the space by launching a dispensary in Oklahoma City.

Top Stories Of The Week

• Cannabis Equity Raises Get Hot After Elections
• Viridian Chart Of The Week: A Changing Of The Guard, Cannabis M&A Moves East
• New Cannabis Products: A Non-Profit Brand For Justice, New Issue Of DoubleBlind Mag, CBD Consumables
• Greens Girl Co. Launches With Focus On Cannabis Equality, Reform
• Rebranding Cannabis: A New, Celeb-Packed Talk Show You Need To Check Out
• Why Every Cannabis Company Needs A Scientific Advisory Board
• Twenty Percent Of Surveyed Cancer Patients Report Using Cannabis
• 5 Things Every Psychedelic Retail Investor Can Learn From The Cannabis Industry
• HempFusion To Go Public, Hopes Products Get On Walgreens' And Kroger's Shelves
• Social Equity Measures Are Crucial On Day One Of Legalization, Cannabis Advocates Say
• A Right-Leaning Supreme Court Won't Impede Cannabis Reform, Legal Experts Say

Top Spanish stories:

• Los Expertos Eligen a Sus Candidatos: ¿Quién Ganará la Red Bull Argentina 2020?
• Facu Banzas: Stream, Porro y Amor por el Counter Strike
• Cannabis Medicinal en Argentina: las Nuevas Reglamentaciones de Autocultivo y Venta
• Mescalina: Todo lo que Siempre Quisiste Saber y Nunca te Animaste a Preguntar
• El Senado de México le Dice Sí a la Legalización de la Marihuana
• Dónde Comer Ramen en Buenos Aires
• El Congreso Argentino Aprobó la Ley Yolanda: ¿De qué se Trata?
• Festival Internacional de Cine Cannábico 2020: la Grilla de Programación
• Acciones de Tilray: Por Qué los Especialistas Ya No Están Tan Entusiasmados
• Calada y a la Cama: el Efecto de la Marihuana sobre los Sueños

Lead image by Ilona Szentivanyi. Copyright: Benzinga.