On Monday, March 4th, Arcadia Biosciences (NASDAQ:RKDA) received its first industrial hemp program license in Hawaii. As this is significant news for the company, the RKDA stock managed to trade in the green for all of last week, closing Friday (four days after the announcement) up nearly 10%.
Here's what we know.
Arcadia Biosciences, RKDA Stock, and New Ties with Hawaii
Based in Davis, California, Arcadia Biosciences last week launched its new cannabis-dedicated operating unit, Arcadia Speciality Genomics. Adding to this announcement, on Monday, March 4th, Arcadia said Hawaii's Department of Agriculture granted the company an Industrial Hemp Pilot Program License. With this, RKDA can cultivate industrial hemp in the state. It's important to mention the license grants cultivation for academic and agriculture research.
The timing of the grant could not have been more perfect, as Hawaii has now been designated as the first state where Arcadia' new cannabis unit will start its research. And not only is this good timing, but there's optimism floating around about both announcements. "Being licensed by the State of Hawaii to participate in this highly selective program gives us an important head start," explained CFO Matt Plavan.
Of course, it's not just those within company walls that are optimistic about the Arcadia Speciality Genomics. Mentioned briefly, the RKDA stock closed Friday up nearly 10%, apparently still reaping the benefits of both announcements.
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RKDA Stock
According to Yahoo Finance, at market close Friday, RKDA stock was trading at $7.34. That means RKDA closed Friday up 7.94%. As of 5:25 PM in after-hours trade, Arcadia Biosciences was up 1.09%.
Now, some of those gains have been corrected, with RKDA currently trading at $7.15, down -2.53%.
Takeaway
Taking into consideration that there's explosive market growth projected in the industrial hemp industry and Hawaii has been vocal about its support toward the sector since the 2014 Farm Bill, it's likely Arcadia Biosciences has gotten its foot in the right door. If that's the case, RKDA stock could be a good stock to keep an eye on.
What do you think?
Featured image: Arcadia
