Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks this week and we will look ahead at the pot stocks to watch in the upcoming week.
Investor interest in the cannabis industry continues to grow and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier. Right now, nine states and D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana and 29 states have legalized medicinal marijuana. Normally, when we talk "cannabis stocks," we are talking about companies that sell both recreational and medicinal cannabis. More and more companies, though, are starting to see the opportunity presenting in this quickly growing industry and we are continuing to see more marijuana initial public offerings (IPOs) on the calendar.
Here's a quick roundup of the major cannabis sector news this week (October 19 through October 23):
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA), a biotech company located in San Diego, announced on October 20 that the Compensation Committee of its Board of Directors granted to seven new employees inducement stock options to purchase an aggregate of 66,475 shares of its common stock and 11,760 inducements restricted stock units ("RSUs") last week.
FSD Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:HUGE), a biotech pharmaceutical company, announced on October 21 that the company would be closing agreements with investors for the purchase and sale of $4.3 million Class B Subordinate Voting Shares as well as warrants to purchase 3.5 million shares at a purchase price of $2.20 per share in a registered direct offering. The warrants have an exercise price of $2.60 per share and are immediately exercisable, expiring five years from the date of issuance. The total purchase value will be $10 million.
G.W. Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:GWPH), a U.K.-based cannabis company, announced on October 21 that the company would be launching unspoken symphony, a web-based, image-recognition technology that gives individuals with epilepsy who struggle to express themselves verbally a new way to communicate and connect like never before by translating artwork into a melody.
Sundial Growers Inc. (NASDAQ:SNDL), an American company well-known for cultivating a specific range of cannabis strains, announced on October 20 that the company will expand its Palmetto brand presence throughout the country of Canada.
Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), one of the biggest e-commerce companies in the world, announced on October 20 that Amazon will be launching an exclusive cannabis product platform by early 2021 in the U.K.
In less stock-specific news, both Mexico and the U.S. are looking toward major changes in the business of marijuana in the near future. In Mexico, the Mexican Senate is likely to vote on a bill to legalize cannabis within the next two weeks which could significantly impact the cannabis market worldwide. As for the U.S., if Presidential Candidate, Joe Biden wins the U.S election, then the potential legalization of cannabis nationwide could be a huge boost for the CBD and cannabis industry all over the world. The biggest impact, by far, will be seen in American and Canadian cannabis markets.
We are right in the middle of earnings season, but out of the roster of companies reporting quarterly earnings next week, there are currently no notable earnings announcements expected from the cannabis sector at this time. However, all earnings dates listed here are tentative and subject to change. Please check with each company's respective website for official reporting dates.
