Companies and Brands

Cannabis Stocks Scare Off Short Sellers

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Cannabis stocks in general stumbled in the latter half of last year. Wall Street expects profits, and none of these companies is anywhere near profitability. In the United States, high state and local taxes took a toll on sales, as did the lack of federal legalization of marijuana for either medical or recreational use.

While a fair number of these companies are based outside the United States, many of them trade on U.S. indexes. With Canada legalizing weed back in October of 2018, many hope that the United States will follow in the near future.

Many investors are wondering where the cannabis stocks go from here. With this increased speculation, short sellers have plenty of room to play with whether share prices have bottomed.

The February 28 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in most of these selected marijuana stocks decreased.

Short interest in Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC) decreased to 46.51 million shares from the previous 48.42 million. The stock was trading at $14.18 Wednesday morning, within a 52-week range of $12.85 to $52.74.

The number of Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) shares short increased to 63.95 million from 61.96 million in the previous period. Its shares were trading at $5.45, in a 52-week range of $5.14 to $22.34.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) saw its short interest decrease to 195.73 million shares from 198.07 million in the prior period. The stock was trading at $0.98. The 52-week range is $0.90 to $10.32.

Tilray Inc.’s (NASDAQ: TLRY) short interest declined to 9.29 million shares from the previous 10.10 million. Shares traded at $7.84, in a 52-week range of $7.60 to $75.55.

Short interest in Aphria Inc. (NYSE: APHA) decreased slightly to 33.39 million from the previous 33.92 million. The stock was trading at $2.94, and its 52-week range is $2.73 to $10.67.

In OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OGI), short interest increased to 11.99 million from the prior 10.05 million. The stock was trading at $1.86, and the 52-week range is $1.70 to $8.44.

Hexo Corp.’s (NYSE: HEXO) short interest rose to 29.47 million shares from the previous 28.41 million. The stock was trading at $0.98. The 52-week range is $0.89 to $8.40.

CannTrust Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CTST) short interest fell to 14.57 million shares from the previous 15.31 million. Shares traded at $0.52, in a 52-week range of $0.46 to $10.17.

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