Data: FactSet; Chart: Axios Visuals
Cannabis companies continued to blaze higher on Wednesday, boosted by the announcement that mainstream sleep medications company Jazz Pharmaceuticals would acquire GW Pharmaceuticals, developer of Epidiolex, a marijuana-based drug that won FDA approval as a treatment for severe forms of childhood epilepsy in 2018.
By the numbers: U.K.-based GW Pharma shares jumped 46% and pot stocks rallied broadly, gaining on their already impressive 2021 surge.
- Shares of Aphria gained 12.6% on the day.
- Cronos rose 8.1%.
- Tilray added 12%.
Be smart: "We don’t think this is the last deal we will see in the sector," Nawan Butt, portfolio manager of the Medical Cannabis and Wellness ETF CBD, told MarketWatch.
- “It is also another example that the cannabis industry is continuing to normalize and evolve beyond the traditional cultivation of flower, with potential well outside of our borders,” Jason Wilson, cannabis and banking expert at ETF Managers Group, which manages the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF, said in the article.
- “For investors, the acquisition of GW Pharma is another reminder that investing in cannabis touches many verticals globally, requiring a diverse approach beyond traditional cannabis cultivation companies.”
Go deeper: Pot stocks boom as industry sees prohibition ending
