Image: The Cannabis Investor.
As the cannabis industry continues to grow and change, many cannabis companies are choosing to go public.
Companies that cultivate or sell THC-rich cannabis are unable to participate in the NASDAQ or New York Stock Exchange. This is due to federal cannabis laws, according to The Motley Fool. However, lenders in the cannabis industry are able to list their stocks in the U.S. under an initial public offering (IPO).
An IPO in the stock market world essentially means a company is shifting from being privately owned to publicly owned.
Anyone is able to purchase shares and become a partial owner of a public company. On the other hand, members of the general public cannot purchase shares and all shares are privately owned.
A person who buys IPO shares is betting that the stock price will go up from the initial offering price at which they purchase the share(s).
In other words, when an individual buys an IPO, it allows them to get in on the group floor of a company.
Companies generally choose to go public to increase profits and visibility. This can also allow private investors the opportunity to withdraw their money from the company more quickly and easily, according to Forbes.
Now, here are seven cannabis companies that recently went public and one that absorbed another cannabis company.
Canopy Growth
Canopy Growth began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in May of 2018 with an opening price of $30.85, according to Nasdaq.com. The company uses the ticker CGC. Shares now go for around $8, close to the 52 week low of $6.64.
This company, based in Smith Falls, Ontario, was one of the first cannabis companies to go public. In addition, the company itself, founded in 2009, has been around longer than most other corporate cannabis companies. They carry brands like Martha Stewart’s CBD, 7ACRES, sugarleaf and First & Free CBD.
Cronos Group
Cronos Group is an international cannabis research, technology and product development company. Its family of brands include Kristen Bell’s Happy Dance, Lord Jones, Peace+ and more.
The company listed their IPO for $0.1 in July of 2014, according to The Motley Fool. Consequently, Cronos Group is listed in the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) under the ticker CRON.
Now, the Cronos Group is now trading around $4 per share in both the TSE and NASDAQ.
Leafly
Leafly is an online cannabis marketplace that focuses on advertising and technology. It is a one-stop-shop for consumers and an avenue for licensed retailers to distribute their products. Popular for features like their strain database, Leafly makes a profit through subscription fees. The company has a female CEO, Yoko Miyashita, and is headquartered in Seattle.
Leafly went public through a merger with Merida Merger Corp., which they agreed to in August 2021, reports Market Realist. The company opened their IPO this Monday, February 7th, at $6.74 per share. Since then, IPO prices have fluctuated minimally. Leafly is listed on the NASDAQ under ticker LFLY.
Altmore BDC, Inc.
Altmore Business Development Company plans to go public soon on the NASDAQ. They are a finance company that will lend money to cannabis startups and companies. The company announced that they will offer 6.6 million shares with an estimated price between $14.50 and $15.50 each. Altmore was founded in June of 2021 and operates out of McLean, Virginia. The company’s ticker will be ABDC.
MedMen
MedMen released their IPO in May of 2018 for $4.17 per share. The company’s ticker is MMEN in the Canadian Stock Exchange; it is also on the OTC market and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
MedMen offers brands such as Good Green, Ozone, High Supply, Grassroots Cannabis, Ascend and others. They have dispensary locations in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada and New York. Their mission is to decriminalize and de-stigmatize cannabis and they provide cannabis education for their customers.
The company is worth $1.65 billion. MedMen’s headquarters is in Culver City, California, and the companies current CEO is Tom Lynch. Since its initial offering, MedMen’s stock price has steadily declined, and is now worth around ¢14 per share.
Ascend Wellness
Ascend Wellness is a multi-faceted cannabis company that both produces and distributes cannabis products. For example, Ascend has retail stores in Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey and Ohio.
Ascend listed an IPO in the Canadian Stock Exchange in May of 2021. The opening price was $8 and they sold 10 million shares under the ticker AAWH, according to Ascend’s website. Shares are now in the $5 range.
Silver Spike Investment Corp.
Silver Spike Investment Corp. (SSIC), founded in January of 2021, went public on February 4th, 2022. The cannabis investment company’s headquarters is in New York City. SSIC provides both personal and equity loans to those in the cannabis industry.
The company trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker SSIC. They have sold slightly over 6 million shares during the IPO at $14 per share. The IPO closed on February 8th, 2022.
Tilray
Lastly, Tilray has not recently released an IPO, but they did go through a merger. Tilray became the largest cannabis company in the world by revenue after their merger with Aphria Inc. in May of 2021, according to MarketWatch.
The company is a global cannabis and pharmaceutical company that operates in several countries. They operate almost every cannabis sector including both medical and recreational distribution, cultivation, research and distribution.
They produces and distributes their own cannabis and also offers brands like Broken Coast, Symbios and of course Aphria. It was the first cannabis company to trade publicly on the NASDAQ, opening at $17 per share in July 2018, according to MarketWatch. Tilray’s subsidiaries include SweetWater beer and Manitoba Harvest hemp products
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