Weed stocks: Tilray subsidiary gets sales license from Health Canada

In this Oct. 4, 2016 photo, farmworkers remove stems and leaves from newly-harvested marijuana plants, at Los Suenos Farms, America’s largest legal open air marijuana farm, in Avondale, southern Colo. For the fall 2016 harvest, the farm’s 36-acres are expected to yield 5 to 6 tons.Brennan Linsley/AP

• Tilray subsidiary High Park Farms announced Monday that it has received a cannabis sales license from Health Canada. 
• Tilray shares are up more than 8% on the news.
• Watch Tilray trade in real time here.

The Canadian cannabis producer Tilray is rallying Monday morning, up more than 8%, after its High Park Farms subsidiary received a sales license from Health Canada. 

The license will allow High Park Farms to “supply and sell finished cannabis products within the ACMPR as well as sales in anticipation of the launch of the adult-use market in Canada upon its legalization on October 17, 2018,” the press release said. 

Monday’s surge is the latest in a series of wild swings for Tilray shares — which have gained 750% since their July initial public offering — and the marijuana space in general. Companies in the sector have seen media appearances and press releases add billions of dollars to their market capitalization. 

In the middle of September, Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy went on CNBC’s “Mad Money” to talk about his company’s growth prospects with Jim Cramer. The following day, shares soared more than 93% — to a high of $300 — before giving up the bulk of their gains. The stock settled at $214.06 that day, before bottoming out at $97.12 a few days later. 

The “green rush” in the stock market can be traced back to the middle of August, when Constellation Brands, the beverage maker behind Corona beer and Svedka vodka, invested $4 billion in Canopy Growth, giving it a 38% stake in the Canadian cannabis producer. Canopy Growth shares spiked 22% that day. 

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