To put things plainly, this has not been a good year for cannabis stocks. It began promisingly, with more than a dozen pot stocks gaining in excess of 70% during the first quarter. However, the wheels fell off the wagon soon thereafter, with most marijuana stocks proving to be buzzkills for investors in 2019. Among the roughly four dozen pot stocks I follow where cannabis is the predominant source of revenue, a mere nine are currently up for the year. Of the remainder, most are down by a double-digit percentage.
Throughout 2019, marijuana stocks were hit with a flurry of problems. In Canada, supply issues took their toll on the legal market. Meanwhile, in recreationally legal U.S. states like California, high tax rates were a clear problem. In both instances, we've seen the black market thrive while legal-channel cannabis struggles. This has, as noted, resulted in a poor performance for marijuana stocks in 2019.
However, a few companies have bucked the trend... in a big way. Among the aforementioned nine pot stocks that have moved higher this year, three have at least doubled in value, through Monday, Dec. 9. In descending order, here are the cannabis industry's top performers, with just three weeks to go before year's end.