The marijuana industry consists of companies directly related to the research, development, and distribution of cannabis products, as well as companies that indirectly support these operations. Traditional stock market indices such as the Nasdaq continue to include more companies from the marijuana industry as a growing number of regions around the world legalize marijuana. The number of U.S. states that permit marijuana use in some form increased to 36 after voters in several states approved marijuana legalization initiatives on their ballots in last year’s U.S. presidential election. Some of the Nasdaq-listed marijuana companies include Tilray Inc. (TLRY) and OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (OGI). Many of these companies have managed to maintain revenue growth in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marijuana stocks, as represented by the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), have slightly outperformed the broader market. MJ has provided a total return of 32.6% over the past 12 months, just above the Russell 1000’s total return of 31.8%. These performance figures and all statistics in the tables below are as of Aug. 26, 2021.
Here are the top 3 marijuana stocks on the Nasdaq with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.
These are the marijuana stocks trading on the Nasdaq exchange with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. For companies in the early stages of development or industries suffering from major shocks, this can be substituted as a rough measure of a business’s value. A business with higher sales could eventually produce more profit when it achieves, or returns to, profitability. The P/S ratio shows how much you’re paying for the stock for each dollar of sales generated.
Source: YCharts
- Village Farms International Inc.: Village Farms International is a Canada-based agricultural producer. In addition to growing vegetables such as tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers, the company now also produces cannabis. Village Farms recently announced that it acquired Balanced Health Botanicals for $75 million. Balanced Health Botanicals is a privately-held company based in Colorado that owns and operates one of the largest brands in the U.S. CBD market.
- HEXO Corp.: HEXO is a Canada-based, vertically-integrated, consumer-packaged goods cannabis company. The company offers both adult-use and medical cannabis. Its line of products include dried flower, marijuana powder, cannabis oil, and cannabis-infused beverages. HEXO announced on Aug. 25 that its shareholders approved the company’s previously-announced acquisition of Redecan, Canada’s largest privately-owned licensed producer. The acquisition was first announced in late May with a total purchase price of CA$925 million ($733 million). The company said that the transaction is expected to be completed within days.
- Hydrofarm Holdings Group Inc.: Hydrofarm Holdings Group manufactures and distributes hydroponics products, including lighting equipment, climate control devices, garden accessories, and related products. Hydrofarm announced in early August that it acquired Greenstar Plant Products Inc., a Canada-based nutrient company, for approximately $83 million. Greenstar manufactures the Grotek and Gaia Green brands and is Hydrofarm’s latest plant nutrient manufacturer acquisition. In July, the company acquired Aurora Innovations Inc., Aurora International Inc., and Gotham Properties LLC, which collectively are called “Aurora”.
These are the marijuana stocks on the Nasdaq with the highest year-over-year (YOY) sales growth for the most recent quarter. Rising sales can help investors identify companies that are able to grow revenue organically or through other means, and find growing companies that have not yet reached profitability. In addition, earnings per share can be significantly influenced by accounting factors that may not reflect the overall strength of the business. However, sales growth can also be potentially misleading about the strength of a business, because growing sales on money-losing businesses can be harmful if the company has no plan to reach profitability.
Source: YCharts
- GrowGeneration Corp.: GrowGeneration operates retail hydroponic and organic specialty gardening retail outlets. It offers plant nutrition, farming soils, crops, advanced lighting technology, hydroponic and aquaponic equipment, and more. While GrowGeneration is not a pure-play cannabis company, many of its products are used in cannabis cultivation. GrowGeneration has been on an acquisition spree in 2021, its latest purchases including: Commercial Grow Supply, a California-based hydroponic superstore; and Hoagtech Hydroponics, a Washington-based hydroponic equipment and indoor gardening store. Hoagtech and Commercial Grow Supply marked GrowGeneration’s 13th and 14th acquisitions since the start of the year, respectively. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
- Cronos Group Inc.: Cronos Group is a Canada-based diversified cannabis company focused on research, technology, and production and distribution of adult-use and medical cannabis products and cannabis oils. The company announced in early August the appointment of Bob Madore as chief financial officer (CFO), effective Aug. 9, 2021. Madore recently served as CFO of American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) between 2016 and 2020.
- Village Farms International Inc.: See above for company description.
These are the marijuana stocks on the Nasdaq that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.
Source: YCharts
- Sundial Growers Inc.: Sundial Growers is a Canada-based cannabis producer. The company produces and distributes cannabis for the adult-use and medical market. It offers dried flower cannabis products in various formats, including pre-rolls, oils, capsules, and more. Sundial Growers announced in July that it has completed its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Inner Spirit Holdings Ltd. The agreement to acquire Inner Spirit was first announced in early May with a transaction value of approximately CA$131 million ($104 million).
- GrowGeneration Corp.: See above for company description.
- Tilray Inc.: Tilray is a Canada-based cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company with global operations. The company engages in cannabis research, cultivation, and distribution. It sells various cannabis products, hemp-based foods, and alcoholic beverages.
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