Cannabis Stocks Have Been Cold. April 20 Likely Won’t Light Them Up.

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It has been a rough year for the two largest cannabis exchange-traded funds, and past performance suggests April 20, also known as 420 Day, won’t send the stocks blazing higher.

420 has been slang for smoking marijuana since the 1970s.

The two ETFs include

AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis
(MSOS) and

ETFMG Alternative Harvest
(MJ). Over the past two years, on April 20, MSOS has dipped an average of 2.2%, while MJ has lost an average of 3.5%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. 

MSOS is an actively managed portfolio of US stocks or swap contracts related to domestic cannabis and hemp, while MJ tracks an index of global firms involved in cannabis and tobacco products and is weighted by market cap, according to FactSet. 

So far this year, MSOS and MJ have tumbled 22.2% and 22.1%, respectively, according to Dow Jones Market Data, continuing a negative pattern for the sector last year.

In 2022, cannabis stocks plummeted around 70%, as producers grappled with weak retail pricing, a lack of capital, and continuing U.S. federal restrictions. That didn’t deter Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Pablo Zuanic, who said to “buy the dip” in a January 2023 report, adding that as more states allow recreational sales, the companies will reap the benefits. 

However, for now, the only green to be seen appears to be the products themselves, as individual cannabis stocks have settled in the red. 

So far this year,

Curaleaf Holdings

(CURLF) has tumbled 43.1%,

Tilray Brands

(TLRY) has lost 10.4%,

Trulieve Cannabis

(TCNNF) has dropped 30%, and

Cronos Group

(CRON) has fallen 23.6%.

Write to Emily Dattilo at [email protected]