In further signs of positive momentum, UK listed cannabis stocks made an unexpected comeback this week, following months of unrelenting share price losses across Europe.
Cellular Goods, Kanabo and Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies all triggered an RNS price monitoring extensions in the wake of spiking share prices this week, while Futura Medical, DeepVerge and Celadon Pharma all made gains.
While the upswings were not unanimous across the sector, Denmark’s Stenocare and Germany’s Cannovum both made double-digit gains, followed closely by Intercure and Seach Medical.
Cellular Goods
The UK’s runaway performer this week was Cellular Goods, which saw its stock climb to peaks of 3.1p, marking its highest point since April this year, and seeing some £10m added to its market cap.
Since reaching highs on Wednesday morning, the stock stabilised throughout the rest of the week to around 1.8p at the time of writing, still marking a 40% rise over the week and seeing around £4m added to its market capitalisation.
Despite the dramatic increase in price and trade volumes, which hit over 52m between Monday and Wednesday, the company made no official announcements to spur on investors’ interest.
It’s thought the initial spike was driven by unofficial and wholly unsubstantiated speculation that Cellular Goods could be preparing for a buyout at 12p per share.
Following the initial spike, demand outpaced availability, and many traders complained of being unable to purchase stock for some time, helping drive up prices even further.
Some suggested a number of large share purchases were indicative of an upcoming takeover, while others alleged a new share issue was imminent. No evidence, however, has been provided to substantiate any of these claims.
Others suggested the rise was due to Cellular Goods’ inclusion in a recent Forbes article, listing the company as one of the ‘best cannabis stocks in August’ alongside Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies and Kanabo.
While there appears to be little substance behind the young CBD company’s recent gains this week, the online attention from investors, social media and news outlets will be welcomed by the company, which recently pointed to hurdles in online advertising as a key reason for its underwhelming sales performance.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies & Kanabo
Cellular Goods’ LSE-listed stablemates Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCT) and Kanabo also saw significant volatility in their stock price this week.
The former saw its stock return above the 1p mark for the first time since May and, unlike both Cellular Goods and Kanabo, had recently announced some significant developments in the form of its year-end results.
OCT announced to investors last week that it was now preparing to commence Phase 1 clinical trials, a major milestone for the company, alongside a new capital raise in order to fund its future operations.
Though its share price is still down some 80% on its listing price, OCT’s recent gains are critical for its future, as it is dependent on raising more funds over the next few months to continue with its four programmes.
Like OCT, which saw share trade volumes spike on Wednesday, August 3, Kanabo also saw a flurry of activity midweek, seeing its share prices jump to highs of 3.88p, a 38.6% rise on Wednesday, soon falling back to a more muted 3p in the following days.
Following months of consistent share price losses across the UK and wider European cannabis sector, largely unaffected by a string of positive developments from companies and countries alike, a widespread uptick is long overdue.
Though there is still a mountain to climb before the majority of these stocks come anywhere near their initial listing price, this week demonstrates there is still an appetite for cannabis investment, and could show signs of growing momentum across the markets.
Panaxia Labs
Outside of the LSE, Israeli cannabis stocks have also been gaining considerably over the last two weeks, seeing Intercure and Seach Medical increase in single digits this week.
Panaxia Labs saw its stock spike nearly 40% last week, reaching peaks of ₪54.8, before falling back to around ₪47.1 this week.
This uplift was driven by an announcement on July 29 that it plans to invest €6m into its Maltese facility, seeing a ‘further expansion to its local production plant’.
After receiving an EU GMP licence for its facility in January, the company now plans to ‘enrich the Maltese production portfolio’, expanding to include an array of products from tablets, oil and extracts for the European and Latin American markets.
Following the completion of the first phase of investment into its facility in Malta, Panaxia says it is due to export its first range of products to Germany ‘in the coming weeks’.
