After several months of trading lower or sideways at best, Australia's leading pot stocks have come back with a bang this month.
As of yesterday's close, this was the state of play in the industry month-to-date:
The Auscann Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AC8) share price posted a huge gain on Thursday, stretching its month-to-date gain to over 43%.
The Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN) share price has rallied 30% so far in November, bringing its three-month return to a mouth-watering 158%.
The Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH) share price has climbed 33% since the start of November. It climbed just over 13% on Thursday following positive business developments.
The MMJ Phytotech Ltd (ASX: MMJ) share price has climbed 21% since the start of the month. Almost all of these gains were made on Thursday when its shares rallied close to 19% higher.
The Hydroponics Company Ltd (ASX: THC) share price is up 8% month-to-date. The diversified cannabis company had a head start on the others and started its ascent in October. Its two-week return is over 80%.
The Zelda Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ZLD) share price is up 8% so far in November. Zelda is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicinal cannabis therapies for breast, brain, and pancreatic cancers.
Why are pot stocks on the rise again?
Investors appear to have become interested in pot stocks again following further loosening of regulations in Australia, but largely as a result of developments in North America.
Those developments are of course the recent strategic investment made by global alcoholic beverage giant Constellation Brands. The owner of the Corona brand has agreed to buy a 9.9% stake in Canadian pot stock Canopy Growth Corp for C$245 million, valuing the company at approximately C$2.5 billion.
Constellation Brands has stated that it believes the cannabis market will be a significant consumer category in the future. Other beverage companies are rumoured to be looking to make acquisitions of their own.
While this certainly is a positive development for the industry, I continue to watch on from the safety of the sidelines with a keen interest and suggest fellow investors do the same.
