The cannabis industry is undergoing a lot of change, especially in the Canadian market. Pot stocks have been taking a beating, with the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF down more than 50% in just six months. Changes are necessary, and they're coming. Here are three of the biggest things cannabis investors should look out for in 2020:
The turning point for the industry may well have been the illegal-growing scandal at CannTrust (NYSE: CTST) that first emerged in July of last year. Although pot stocks were already struggling at that point, the news definitely heightened the risk in the industry, with many investors wondering whether other companies could be in trouble as well.
HEXO (NYSE: HEXO), for example, was dragged through the mud, with one short-seller alleging that it could be the next in trouble. While nothing ended up materializing there, the risk that a pot producer is engaged in illegal activity is a significant one for investors to consider, as such news (or rumors) can cripple a stock's price without much notice. Today, CannTrust's stock price is not even $1, nowhere near the more than $9 a share it reached before the scandal hit.