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Buds & Duds: Cannabis stocks level out Friday; Flowr shares soar as CannTrust shares continue to slip

Last updated: 12:20 19 Jul 2019 EDT, First published: 11:20 19 Jul 2019 EDT

cannabis plant
It is estimated CannTrust grew 12,700 kgs of cannabis illegally, and shares continue to slide on Friday

Cannabis stocks cruised into Friday with a healthy mix of green and red across North American markets.

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, was up 0.3% to 220.6 points on Friday. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF was up 0.1% to C$16.95. The OTCQX Cannabis Index was up 0.5% at 716.2 points.

Buds

The Flowr Corporation (CVE:FLWR) (OTCMKTS:FLWPF) shares soared on Friday after announcing that it has decided not to proceed with an equity offering.

The cannabis company had released plans to raise C$125 million for its acquisition of Holigen Holdings Ltd, a European-based cannabis company developing large-scale GMP-compliant grow facilities in Portugal and Australia, of which Flowr owns 19.8%.

Shares of Flowr jumped on Friday, up 18.3% at C$4.73 in Toronto, and up 18.6% at US$3.64 in New York. 

Earlier this week, the company announced it had received a second site cultivation license from Health Canada for its Flowr Forest project, an expanded indoor and outdoor cultivation area with a total licensed grow space of over 530,000 square feet in Kelowna, British Columbia.

READ: Flowr says it is not proceeding with equity offering; shares soar

Shares of CBD manufacturer Isodiol International Inc (CSE:ISOL) (OTCQB:ISOLF) were on the rise Friday, up 7.5% to US$0.48 in US trading. 

The firm announced Thursday it was terminating its deal to acquire multiple assets under the Carlsbad Naturals LLC umbrella. The assets were to be acquired by Iso International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Isodiol International.

The firm said the cancellation of the deal came came "as a result of Carlsbad New Mexico and Carlsbad Wyoming’s failure to perform their respective obligations under the agreements, including the obligation to transfer to the company the intellectual properties, brands and other assets that formed the subject matter of the transactions," noted the firm in a statement. 

READ: Curaleaf has big plans to build the largest cannabis brand in the United States

Other gainers Friday included Curaleaf Holdings (CSE:CURA) (OTCMKTS:CURLF) which had a busy week, after announcing a mammoth US$875 million deal to acquire private producer GR Companies Inc (Grassroots) earlier in the week.

The deal expands Curaleaf’s footprint to 19 states from 12, including Illinois, which recently became the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana. The combined entity will have 131 dispensary licences, 68 operational locations and 20 cultivation sites.

Shares were up 7.7% at C$10.72 in Canadian trading, up 6.7% at US$8.16 in New York.

Duds

CannTrust Holdings Inc (TSE:TRST) (OTCMKTS:CNTTF) stock continued to sink Friday, following a tumultous few weeks after the company was dinged by Health Canada for cultivating cannabis in grow rooms that didn't have a licence to operate at its Pelham, Ontario facility.

It's estimated the company grew 12,700 kgs of cannabis illegally. Health Canada federal inspectors are currently auditing the firm. According to reports, CannTrust's board has hired a Bay Street law firm, while appointing a sporting goods executive Robert Marcovitch to lead a special committee to figure out how the breach occurred. 

Shares were down 4.7% at C$3.66 in Toronto, and down 4.8% at US$2.79 in New York. Since the news broke, CannTrust shares have dropped by more than 40%. 

Other laggards Friday included Terra Tech Corp (OTCMKTS:TRTC), down 2.7% at US$0.39, and cannabis packaging company KushCo Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:KSHB), which was down 5.7% at US$4.65 in New York.

Contact Katie Lewis at katie@proactiveinvestors.com

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on 05/15/2020