Marijuana ETF Reaches 10x Valuation in Less than a Year
This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.
Excitement over cannabis stocks like Tilray (TLRY) and Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) in recent days has caused the perfunctory price correction for the only cannabis-related ETF on the market-- ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), which has fallen 5.21% today, but is still trading at 10 times its valuation since December 2017 when it switched its focus from Latin American real estate to cannabis.
Per a report, MJ currently has a market value equal to $707.19 million thanks to an influx of investor capital this week as a result of the frenzy on cannabis-related stocks. Similarly, Tilray, one of MJ's holdings, has seen its valuation multiply tenfold, but has now fallen over 26% today as of 1:00 p.m. ET.
Related: Marijuana ETF Climbs as Tilray Becomes First Canadian Company to Import Pot to U.S.
MJ seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the total return performance of the Prime Alternative Harvest Index, which is concentrated in the pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries. The serendipitous growth of these cannabis stocks may force large pharmaceutical companies to partner with these companies to effectively hedge against the marijuana medicine industry invading their market share, according to Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy.
"Cannabis is a substitute for prescription painkillers, prescription opioids, and so if you're an investor in a pharmaceutical company or you're a pharmaceutical company, you have to hedge the offset from cannabis substitution," Kennedy told CNBC in an interview.
Cannabis stocks have been receiving a bevy of positive news, including investment firm Morgan Stanley saying that GW Pharmaceuticals' new cannabinoid-based therapy will be a "blockbuster." Additionally, beverage giant Coca-Cola is looking to enter the marijuana industry space with purported interest in Canadian company Aurora Cannabis Inc to help stymie slowing soda sales.
Related: Marijuana ETF Boosted by Coca-Cola’s Interest in Weed Drinks
However, there are market naysayers that parallel the recent cannabis stock craze to that of the bubble surrounding cryptocurrencies--in particular, Bitcoin, which reached a value of $20,000 last December, but has since fallen to around $6,000.
“With a bubble beginning to form comparable to bitcoin and even the ‘Dot Com’ bubble of the late 90’s the average investor is going to suffer,” said Ken Mahoney of Mahoney Asset Management in emailed comments. “With these frightening volatility levels and no previous history of stability, trading cannabis stock cannot be perceived as a sound long-term investment.”
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