August was another busy month for cannabis investors as Ontario and the potential entry of a new alcohol producer into the sector sent stocks on a ride of ups and downs.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government confirmed its approach to the retail cannabis market by privatizing the entire shopping experience. Starting in April 2019, companies with leases and approvals will be allowed to set up shops in the province. Despite the delay in retail sales, experts viewed this announcement as a good sign for the overall market in the long-term.
However the public markets reacted negatively to the delay which led to a significant loss day for plenty of cannabis stocks and cannabis centric ETFs. Following the day of losses an investment announcement sparked the entire market again. Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) confirmed its second investment into Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED,NYSE:CGC), this time for C$5 billion set to be used for international development of company operations.
“Over the past year, we’ve come to better understand the cannabis market, the tremendous growth opportunity it presents, and Canopy’s market-leading capabilities in this space,” Rob Sands, CEO of Constellation Brands, said.
At the end of the month, a report from BNN Bloomberg indicated alcohol producer Diageo (NYSE:DEO) is eyeing its own entry into the cannabis space. Unnamed cannabis executives told BNN Bloomberg conversations are ongoing with the producer behind Guinness beer.
“I think investors should keep in mind that a transaction with a beverage company could take many forms… there are lots of other ways for the companies to work together that might not have that same impact but [can] still be meaningful,” Doug Waterson, CFO and Portfolio Manager with Faircourt Asset Management and Manager of the Ninepoint UIT Alternative Health Fund told the Investing News Network (INN).
Watch the video above for more on what happened during the month of August.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
