SHOP - Only These 10 Pot Stocks Ended August Higher
On one hand, legal marijuana could prove to be one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet over the next decade. If investment bank Stifel's forecast of $200 billion in annual worldwide sales in 10 years proves accurate, we could be looking at a compound annual growth rate for cannabis of around 34%.
On the other hand, marijuana stocks have been a train wreck since the beginning of the second quarter. Supply chain woes in Canada, high tax rates in the U.S., and disappointing operating results have sunk the industry. In August, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, the first tradable cannabis ETF, fell nearly 14%, and is now down 34%, inclusive of dividends paid, since the end of March.
The data gets even uglier for the combined 58 direct cannabis players and ancillary stocks I regularly follow. After July saw just nine pot stocks head higher, August tallied only 10 winners -- five of which rose by less than 4%. Suffice it to say, it was another ugly month for marijuana stocks.