The world just keeps getting better and better for Canada’s Tilray. Tilray announced on Tuesday the company had gotten approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to import marijuana to the United States for medical research.
Tilray’s U.S.-listed shares jumped 28.9 percent Tuesday with 19 million of the company’s 21.7 million floating shares exchanging hands. Shares are up over 400 percent in the past month.
But an appearance by CEO Brendan Kennedy on CNBC’s Mad Money Tuesday night set the stage for Tilray shares to soar into the double-digits on Wednesday. Kennedy told CNBC host Jim Cramer on Tuesday evening that Canada was just the tip of the iceberg for full legalization when it came to marijuana.
A notorious short seller says huge gains in Canadian cannabis producer Tilray are 'beyond comprehension’ businessinsider) September 19, 2018
Tilray stocks have now tripled in value in September. As of 10:24 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning, Tilray trading volume hit 9.7 million shares, topping the stock’s 30-day full-day average of 9.6 million shares.
“I think you’ll see the third country within 12 months of October, and that’s where the real opportunity is,” he said. “It’s not about Canada — it’s about all the countries that follow.”
Medical marijuana growth
During his interview Tuesday night, Kennedy told CNBC’s Cramer that the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies must start thinking about partnering with cannabis producers as a “hedge” against the space.
“Cannabis is a substitute for prescription painkillers, prescription opioids, and so if you’re an investor in a pharmaceutical company or you’re a pharmaceutical company, you have to hedge the offset from cannabis substitution,” the Tilray executive said.
Kennedy went on to argue in favor of food and beverage companies getting into the cannabis boom. Aurora Cannabis has rallied nearly 30 percent this week in Canadian trading after it was reported that Coca-Cola is in talks with Aurora to develop weed-infused beverages, according to Digital Journal.
Tilray gets DEA approval to import cannabis into the U.S. for medical research, the first Canadian company to do so BloombergCA) September 18, 2018
The upshot of the announcement over getting approval to ship medical cannabis into the U.S. is a special study being done at the University of California San Diego Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research to study the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of marijuana for a neurological disorder.
“Tilray is proud to support this crucial research,” says Dr. Catherine Jacobson, director of clinical research at Tilray. “If this study can identify cannabinoids as a potential treatment for patients suffering from essential tremor, we can conduct further research and potentially provide alternative effective methods of relief for the high numbers of patients with Essential Tremor,” he added.
And this latest study is actually the fourth study Tilray has been involved in. Other trials include a study at the University of British Columbia Okanagan on the impact of cannabis on post-traumatic stress disorder, a trial at the University of Sydney in Australia on chemotherapy nausea reduction and a study at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto on pediatric epilepsy.
“Clinical trials build a halo around the brand. They inspire confidence and trust with physicians and regulators around the world and they give us data and information to talk to pharmacists and physicians that they just can’t obtain from our competitors,” Kennedy said.
Nanaimo, British Columbia-based Tilray was founded in 2013. The company provides pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products to patients, researchers, pharmacies and governments. Tilray cultivates and delivers the benefits of medical cannabis safely and reliably. Healthcare practitioners and patients expect and deserve only the best service and products.
As of 12:05 EDT on September 19, 2018, Tilray stock was selling at $233.04, up 50 .37 percent.
