Why Cannabis Stock Canopy Growth Surged 12% Yesterday

The IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada) imposed a trading halt on Canopy Growth (WEED) at 4:11 PM EST on February 16, 2018.

According to the IIROC, “A trading halt is a temporary pause in trading to allow the market to properly absorb the information. It is based on the principle that all investors should have the same timely access to important company information.”

Trading resumed on February 20 at 8:00 AM EST. Canopy Growth opened almost 3.3% higher at 27.38 Canadian dollars compared to its close on February 16. During the trading session, Canopy’s shares rose to a high of 30 Canadian dollars and settled almost 12% higher at 29.6 Canadian dollars at the market’s close.

ETFs that had Canopy Growth among their holdings also rose during the day. For example, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (HMMJ), which held 13.2% of Canopy Growth as a percentage of its total portfolio on February 16, rose almost 5% during the day. Aurora Cannabis (ACB) (ACBFF), MedReleaf (MEDFF), and GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) were other cannabis players that made up ~41% of HMMJ’s portfolio on February 16.

HMLSF, which is the US version of HMMJ trading on the over-the-counter markets, rose 4% on the day.

The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), previously MJX, rose 1%, and Canopy Growth made up ~5.9% of its portfolio holdings on February 20.

The Evolve Marijuana ETF (SEED), which debuted last week and had 10.2% of its portfolio in Canopy Growth on February 16, rose as much as 4.5% during the day. Read more about this ETF’s top ten holdings in Key Developments in the Cannabis Sector Last Week.

The big news for which the trading was halted—and which led Canopy Growth’s shares to surge—was the announcement of its receiving a cultivation license under its BC Tweed Joint Venture. We’ll look further into why this is so important in the next article.