ICNAF - Top Cannabis Stocks Year-to-Date

Click here to read the previous top cannabis stocks year-to-date list.

As the door closes on 2020 the Investing News Network looks back on the operating year and finds which cannabis stocks performed the best.

Investors looking for an edge with cannabis in 2020 were thrown for a turbulent ride as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected virtually every market. However, the cannabis industry was able to get a few key wins in the year.

As such some companies across the board secured positive returns for the year as they continued to move forward with their business.

Data for this article was collected on December 15, 2020, and the companies included had to meet a minimum market cap requirement of C$10 million. The performance of cannabis stocks over a year-to-date period on the NYSE, NASDAQ, TSX, TSXV and CSE were considered.

1. Vibe Growth (CSE: VIBE ,OTC Pink:VBSCF)

Year-to-date gain: 544.44 percent; current market cap: C$41.58 million; current share price C$0.55

Vibe Growth is a cannabis company based in the expansive California state market. This retailer and operator offers consumers its extensive line of products at the three stores it manages in the state.

This year the company has focussed predominantly on its operations in California by acquiring a second facility and confirming expansion plans for existing facilities . The company did expand beyond California in 2020 by securing a deal for a dispensary based in Portland, Oregon.

2. TerrAscend (CSE: TER ,OTCQX:TRSSF)

Year-to-date gain: 321.59 percent; current market cap: C$971.02 million; current share price C$12.95

TerrAscend is a cannabis operator predominantly focussed on the US marketplace opportunity. This year the company had a straightforward growth path on the open market seeing its share price increase as the firm kept advancing its expansion plans.

“We’re driving strong revenue growth and continued margin expansion by focusing on operational excellence, controlled SG&A spending, and strategically allocating our capital,” Jason Ackerman, CEO and executive chairman of TerrAscend, said as part of the Q3 2020 financial statement from the company.

Just before the year ended it was confirmed Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: CGC ,TSX:WEED) would be upping its stake in TerrAscend to 21 percent by divesting its interest in Canopy Rivers (TSX: RIV ).

3. Next Green Wave Holdings (CSE: NGW ,OTCQX:NXGWF)

Year-to-date gain: 250 percent; current market cap: C$56.22 million; current share price C$0.33

Despite seeing a dip in value earlier in the year, in the second half of the year Next Green Wave Holdings picked up steam and delivered a solid end of year performance for its investors.

The company, an established seed-to-sale operator in the California state cannabis market, recently confirmed plans for a new cultivation facility in Coalinga as it seeks to up its production numbers by about 150 percent per year.

This year has served the company to show steady operating performance as it confirmed that in July, August and September it saw positive cash flow and profitability. By November, the company had reached over US$1 million in revenues each month of its Q3 2020.

4. Icanic Brands (CSE: ICAN ,OTCQB:ICNAF)

Year-to-date gain: 204.55 percent; current market cap: C$127.90 million; current share price C$0.65

Icanic Brands is a cannabis company with operations in California and Nevada exclusively selling branded products. The company mainly highlights its brand Ganja Gold, which the company indicated it plans to introduce additional SKUs for this brand.

The company confirmed it had secured a US$2 million private placement back in September allowing it to expand its vision of expansion plans for next year as it also began construction for a new central facility in California.

“For our Company, 2020 was always meant to be a year to solidify our company’s foundation in preparation for our future while trying to meet the increasing demand for our products,” Brandon Kou, CEO of Icanic, said as part of its fiscal 2020 report .

5. Jushi Holdings (CSE: JUSH ,OTCQB:JUSHF)

Year-to-date gain: 190 percent; current market cap: C$669.22 million; current share price C$6

Jushi is a multi-state operator focussed on the US cannabis market opportunity. The company operates a vertically integrated business overseeing cannabis cultivation, brand curation and retail management.

As part of its Q3 2020 financial results , Jim Cacioppo, CEO, chairman and founder of Jushi, said the company was raising the floor of its Q4 2020 revenue guidance to an increased margin between US$28 million to US$30 million.

“We continued to see strong momentum in the business as we exited the third quarter, and as a result, we expect to see further expansion in revenue and profitability through the balance of the year,” Cacioppo said.

Investor takeaway

Despite the challenging nature of 2020 and its impact in the financial markets, some cannabis companies were able to pull through and beyond this top 5 the industry saw substantial growth from companies in the US sector, a marketplace expected to only go up from now on .

INNdepth

Want more details? Check out these articles for more INNdepth coverage:

• Cannabis Investment: Canadian Cannabis Stocks
• Invest in Cannabis: TSX Cannabis Stocks
• Cannabis Companies: Stocks on the TSXV
• 10 Small-cap Cannabis Stocks
• 10 Big-cap Canadian Cannabis Stocks
• CSE Marijuana Stocks
• Cannabis Stocks on the CSE25 Index
• Are Canadian Marijuana Stocks a Good Investment?

Want an overview of investing in cannabis stocks? Check out Investing in the Cannabis Industry

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.