Most cannabis stocks are trading red to start off the week on both US and Canadian exchanges. Aphria Inc. (TSX:APHA) (NYSE:APHA) is standing out among the rest of the stocks, but not in a positive way. The Canadian cannabis stock is tanking on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
Let's take a closer look.
Aphria Inc. Takes a Nosedive
Aphria is headquartered in Leamington, Ontario, and it produces and sells medical cannabis across Canada and internationally. The Canadian cannabis company offers sativa, indica, and hybrid medical marijuana and cannabis oils. Aphria sells its products online and serves patients and healthcare providers.
Aphria is tanking on exchanges due to a short-selling conference held in New York. Gabriel Grego of Quintessential Capital Management called Aphria a "black hole for shareholders' money." Grego states that Aphria has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on foreign acquisitions that are "worthless."
Clearly, however, not everyone in the industry agrees with Gabriel Grego. This morning, Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (TSXV:TBP) announced that it has closed a private placement with Aphria Inc. Tetra Bio-Pharma is a development stage company that engages in the development of biopharmaceuticals and natural health products containing cannabis.
Based on Aphria's stock movement today, investors seem to be leaning more towards Gabriel Grego's way of thinking about the company.
“As a leader in the global cannabis industry, Aphria is committed to fostering the research, development and commercialization of medical cannabis treatments and applications with our valued strategic partners,” said Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria. “With this investment, we are pleased to deepen our long-standing relationship with Tetra Bio-Pharma as they pursue critical research and clinical trials with the potential to bring notable advances to cannabis and cannabinoid-derived pharmaceutical products.”
>> The UK's First Medical Marijuana Prescription Costs Patients £2,500
This strategic partnership is geared specifically towards taking a pharmaceutical pathway to the commercialization of cannabis and cannabinoid-based products. Aphria's investment will aid Tetra in its drug development activities, including expanding in the US.
Despite the Tetra announcement, based on Aphria's stock movement today, investors seem to be leaning more towards Grego's way of thinking about the company.
Aphria Inc. Stock Movement
According to Yahoo Finance, the cannabis stock is currently trading at $8.05 CAD on the TSX, down -$2.46 CAD (-23.41%). On the NYSE, APHA is trading at $6.12 a share, down -$1.78 (-22.53%). Aphria Inc. is currently seeing the most losses across all cannabis stocks on the market today.
Featured Image: Depositphotos/© Gobba
