Endless effort over the years has been wasted trying to evaluate “the cannabis map” in terms of state-by-state regulatory developments, but the real map for investors shows the major players and their market share.
That map was too fragmented to be attractive. But this week changed those dynamics in a constructive direction as two of the biggest spaces on the map combined into a single industry leader.
Yes, Aphria Corp. is gone. APHA is no longer a useful ticker symbol anywhere. And while Tilray Corp. (TSE:TLRY) inherits APHA’s substantial assets and sales base, it is no longer a U.S. stock.
The new TLRY only trades on the NASDAQ as a demonstration of goodwill. The old TLRY that made waves years ago is now only a piece of the company in front of us now.
This is a great thing. I’ve argued for years that there were too many lookalike stocks in the cannabis field robbing each other of the resources they needed to attract shareholder capital and the scale they need to succeed in the long term.
While I loved APHA, I’m happy to see it go under these conditions. And I’m excited to see where the industry goes from here.
I take a portfolio-focused approach to IPO Edge, where cannabis is only a small piece of a unified buy list. We’re like a venture capital fund in that way, confident that triple-digit-percentage wins will more than compensate for a few missed swings along the way.
