Cannabis Stocks' Short Interest Up in Smoke

Companies and Brands

Published: April 13, 2020 10:29 am

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 March 31 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 39.64 million shares from the previous 44.76 million. The stock was trading at $14.29 Monday morning, within a 52-week range of $9.00 to $52.74.

The number of Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) shares short decreased to 48.06 million from 57.20 million in the previous period. Its shares were trading at $5.69, in a 52-week range of $4.00 to $17.86.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) saw its short interest shrank slightly to 192.21 million shares from 192.56 million in the prior period. The stock was trading at $0.76. The 52-week range is $0.60 to $9.37.

Tilray Inc.’s (NASDAQ: TLRY) short interest increased to 15.33 million shares from the previous 10.30 million. Shares traded at $6.70, in a 52-week range of $2.43 to $54.10.

Short interest in Aphria Inc. (NYSE: APHA) decreased to 33.37 million from the previous 36.62 million. The stock was trading at $3.21, and its 52-week range is $1.95 to $9.13.

In OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OGI), short interest decreased to 9.08 million from the prior 11.68 million. The stock was trading at $1.80, and the 52-week range is $1.41 to $8.44.

Hexo Corp.’s (NYSE: HEXO) short interest fell to 28.70 million shares from the previous 30.40 million. The stock was trading at $0.47. The 52-week range is $0.34 to $8.40.