Cannabis stocks up briefly Thursday before plunging on Gaetz withdrawal
Cannabis stocks popped briefly on Thursday morning before taking a nosedive after President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, announced his withdrawal from consideration for the job.
The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) – one of the touchstones of marijuana stock trading – opened at $4.74 per share this morning and spiked to a high of $4.86, but when Gaetz announced mid-morning on X that he was pulling out of consideration for the attorney general slot, the stock plunged to $4.44. The ETF closed for the day at $4.63, down 3.9% for the day.
Other major names in cannabis stocks took similar hits, given that Gaetz was widely viewed as a pro-cannabis candidate for the nation’s top law enforcement job – and many of the alternative names, such as Texas AG Ken Paxton, aren’t.
- Green Thumb Industries Inc. (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF) finished the day down 2.7%, to $9.34 from $9.63.
- Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CURA:CA) (OTCQX: CURLF) took a 5% hit, and finished the day at $1.99, down from $2.10.
- Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) ended the day down 3%, at $6.12 from $6.39.
- Cresco Labs Inc. (CSE: CL) (OTCQX: CRLBF) (FSE: 6CQ) finished the day down 3.7%, to $1.15 from $1.20.
- Verano Holdings Corp. (VRNO:CA) (OTCQX: VRNOF) ended the day down 5.5%, at $1.55 from $1.69.
- Ayr Wellness Inc. (CSE: AYR.A, OTCQX: AYRWF) finished the day down 3.8%, at $0.69 from $0.75.
- MariMed Inc. (CSE: MRMD) (OTCQX: MRMD) finished the day down 3.2%, to $0.15 from $0.16.
A few noteworthy cannabis stocks seemed immune to the negative news, however, including 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQB: FFNTF), which had a positive day and finished up 3.3% at $0.031 from $0.028.
Ascend Wellness (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH) also took only a modest comparative hit, losing just 0.27% value and finishing the day at the same price it opened, $0.44.
