On Monday,
Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) and
Aphria, Inc. (NASDAQ:APHA) closed their merger after months of negotiations, creating a company with a combined market cap of $3.3 billion. Benzinga spoke with
Irwin Simon, CEO of the new combined company.
Check out the video below:
Following the merger, Jefferies upgraded the rating for Tilray from Underperform to Buy, while raising the price target from $4.77 to $23.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) finalized its acquisition of
GW Pharmaceuticals plc. (NASDAQ:GWPH), the producer of the FDA‑approved prescription cannabidiol drug Epidiolex, for $7.2 billion or $6.7 billion net of GW Pharma s cash.
Meanwhile,
Ascend Wellness Holdings (CSE:AAWH) started trading on the Canadian Securities exchange following a raise of approximately $80 million through an initial public offering of roughly 10 million shares of its Class A common stock at $8 per share.
Cannabis stocks traded mostly in the green this week, as we got into earnings season.
“While there were a lot of companies reporting earnings, like Turning Point Brands who gave guidance of $422 million for 2021, I thought the biggest piece of data came from Pennsylvania
,” Debra Borchardt, editor-in-chief of Green Market Report, told Benzinga. “The state reported that in one year it had sold over $900 million in medical marijuana. This demonstrates the demand for cannabis in this state and bodes well for any future adult-use legalization. This is also a big number when one considers that the program has only just gotten underway.”
Retailer
Planet 13 Holdings Inc. (CSE:PLTH) (OTCQB:PLNHF) reported single-day record sales of $543,000 on April 20. Meanwhile,
Eaze, California s largest marketplace for legal cannabis delivery, announced a 185% surge in deliveries (compared to any other Tuesday in 2021), with an average basket of $200, up 50% from the same day in 2020.
“Cannabis consumers moved to delivery as their preferred way of shopping last year, so we re not surprised to see such a strong 420 in 2021,” said Ro Choy, CEO of Eaze. “Even as daily life begins to return to normal, consumers are staying with the convenience of delivery. It s the future of this industry.”
Debra Borchardt, CEO of Green Market Report, added, “The April 20 holiday is becoming the largest sales day of the year for the industry. Headset reported logging $60,000 in sales per minute, while Planet 13 said it did over half a million sales on Tuesday. Even Ayr Wellness clocked in an amazing $1.2 million day across its stores.
A shortened week came with no shortage of news.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed recreational marijuana into law on Wednesday, making the Empire State the 15th in the U.S. to legalize cannabis.
The legislation allows adults 21 and older to possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis or 24 grams of. Read More.