In my article last week I dispelled the impression that all is well in the cannabis sector, pointing out that, according to the munKNEE Pure-Play "Seed-to-Sale" Pot Stocks Index of the 23 largest vertically integrated LP and MSO cannabis companies by market capitalization, it had been declining monthly since it peaked on February 10th and, unfortunately, I must report that the trend continues. The Index was DOWN another -1.5% last week and is currently trending DOWN -11.8% so far in October and is now DOWN -18.5% YTD.

The munKNEE  Pure-Play "Seed-to-Sale" Pot Stocks Index consists of the 23 non-ancillary (i.e. pure-play) cannabis companies that trade for at least US$1/share, have a market cap of at least US$200M and trade on one or more of the Canadian and/or American stock exchanges. Six of the 23 index constituents that meet that criteria are Canadian Licensed Producers (LPs) and 17 are American Multi-State Operators (MSOs) and they represent 10% of the total universe of 220 cannabis and ancillary companies currently trading.

The details of those major winners and losers are as follows:

Major Winners

Of the 23 stocks in the Index, only 9 were UP last week of which only 5 advanced by more than 3%. They were as follows in descending order:

1. Valens (VLNCF): UP +8.4% last week but remains DOWN -10.2% so far in October (MTD).
   • reported favorable Q3 financial results for the period ended August 31, 2021
   • announced that it expects to get listed on the Nasdaq before the end of Q4
   • announced announced that Société québécoise du cannabis ("SQDC") has agreed to distribute its cannabis products into Québec, the third-largest cannabis market in Canada , representing approximately 15% of Canadian cannabis retail sales
2. Tilray (TLRY): UP +8.2% last week; (DOWN -1.9% MTD)
   • announced that Blair MacNeil had been hired as its new president for Tilray Canada to further advance their growth strategy and expand their presence across Canada with a goal of achieving a 30% share of market by the end of fiscal year 2024,"
   • announced that it had signed a brokerage agreement with Great North Distributors, Inc., Canada’s first national sales broker for legalized adult-use cannabis, as the exclusive representative for Tilray’s complete portfolio of adult-use cannabis products across the Canadian marketplace, with the exception of Quebec.
3. Trulieve (TCNNF): UP +5.5%; (UP +2.7% MTD)
   • announced the opening of its 100 ^th dispensary in the state of Florida, received a production license approval in Georgia and opened its first dispensary in the state of Massachusetts
4. Organigram (OGI): UP +4.5%; (UP +1.7% MTD)
5. Cronos (CRON): UP +3.1%; (Unchanged MTD)

Major Losers

Of the remaining 14 constituents, 7 were DOWN by more than 3%, as follows, in ascending order:

1. Ascend Wellness (AAWH): DOWN -10.5% and is now DOWN -16.5% MTD
2. TerrAscend (TRSSF): DOWN -7.9%; (DOWN -21.7% MTD)
3. Gage Growth (GAGE): DOWN -6.8%; (DOWN -18.6% MTD)
4. Ayr Wellness (AYRWF): DOWN -5.8%; (DOWN - 19.0% MTD)
5. Goodness Growth (GDNSF): DOWN -3.8%; (DOWN -3.8% MTD)
6. Curaleaf (CURLF): DOWN -3.4%; DOWN -15.3% MTD)
7. 4Front Ventures (FFNTF): DOWN -3.0%; (DOWN -7.5% MTD)

Action Going Forward

The above account is a grim reminder of how poorly cannabis stocks are performing but one could look at these declines as, perhaps, an opportunity to buy one or more of them. To that end, you are encouraged to visit the company websites and click on the hyperlinked symbols of those stocks you are interest in and review their latest financial statements and commentary as found in the TalkMarkets data there.