Top Marijuana Stocks on the Nasdaq for December 2021

The marijuana industry consists of companies directly related to the research, development, and distribution of cannabis products, as well as companies that indirectly support these operations. Traditional stock market indices such as the Nasdaq continue to include more companies from the marijuana industry, as a growing number of regions around the world legalize marijuana. The number of U.S. states that permit marijuana use in some form increased to 36 after voters in several states approved marijuana legalization initiatives on their ballots in last year’s U.S. presidential election.

Some of the Nasdaq-listed marijuana companies include Tilray Inc. (TLRY) and OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (OGI). Many of these companies have managed to maintain fast revenue growth in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marijuana stocks, as represented by the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), an exchange-traded fund, have significantly underperformed the broader market. MJ has provided a total return of -7.9% over the past 12 months, well below the benchmark Russell 1000 index’s total return of 30.4%. These performance figures and all statistics in the tables below are as of Nov. 24, 2021.

Here are the top three marijuana stocks on the Nasdaq with the best value, fastest growth, and most momentum.

These are the marijuana stocks trading on the Nasdaq exchange with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. For companies in the early stages of development or industries suffering from major shocks, this can be substituted as a rough measure of a business’s value. A business with higher sales could eventually produce more profit when it achieves, or returns to, profitability. The P/S ratio shows how much you’re paying for the stock for each dollar of sales generated.

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• • HEXO Corp.: HEXO is a Canada-based, vertically integrated, consumer packaged goods cannabis company. The company offers both adult-use and medical cannabis. Its line of products include dried flower, marijuana powder, cannabis oil, and cannabis-infused beverages. The company announced on Nov. 9 that it will cease operations at three production sites acquired in its recent acquisitions of 48North Cannabis Corp. and Zenabis Global Inc. Decommissioning these sites will centralize product cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution at HEXO’s core facilities.
  • Village Farms International Inc.: Village Farms International is a Canada-based agricultural producer. In addition to growing vegetables such as tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers, the company now also produces cannabis. For Q3 2021 ended Sept. 30, Village Farms International reported 43.3% year-over-year (YOY) growth in net income and 68.3% YOY sales growth. Cannabis sales across the U.S. and Canada comprised 43.1% of total sales during the quarter.

• GrowGeneration Corp.: GrowGeneration operates retail hydroponic and organic specialty gardening retail outlets. It offers plant nutrition, farming soils, crops, advanced lighting technology, hydroponic and aquaponic equipment, and more. While GrowGeneration is not a pure-play cannabis company, many of its products are used in cannabis cultivation. Net income rose by 20.6% as revenue more than doubled YOY to a record during Q3 2021 ended Sept. 30. Comparable store sale srose 15.7%. GrowGeneration attributed the success in part to factors including: increasing inventory positions across key product categories ahead of price increases; an expansion of private label purchases, and online sales growth.

These are the marijuana stocks on the Nasdaq with the highest year-over-year (YOY) sales growth for the most recent quarter. Rising sales can help investors to identify companies that are able to grow revenue organically or through other means, and to find growing companies that have not yet reached profitability. In addition, earnings per share (EPS) can be significantly influenced by accounting factors that may not reflect the overall strength of the business. However, sales growth can also be potentially misleading about the strength of a business, because growing sales on money-losing businesses can be harmful if the company has no plan to reach profitability.

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• GrowGeneration Corp.: See company description above.
• Village Farms International Inc.: See company description above.
• HEXO Corp.: See company description above.

These are the marijuana stocks on the Nasdaq that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.

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• Sundial Growers Inc.: Sundial Growers is a Canada-based cannabis producer. The company produces and distributes cannabis for the adult-use and medical market. It offers dried flower cannabis products in various formats, including pre-rolls, oils, capsules, and more.
• OrganiGram Holdings Inc.: OrganiGram Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiary, Organigram Inc., is a Canada-based producer of medical and recreational cannabis. Its major focus is producing indoor-grown cannabis. The company announced the launch of a new wellness brand, Monjour, on Nov. 18. The new brand includes products for consumers seeking easy ways to incorporate cannabidiol (CBD) into a daily wellness routine.
• Tilray Inc.: Tilray is a Canada-based company that engages in cannabis research, cultivation, and distribution. It sells various cannabis products, hemp-based foods, and alcoholic beverages. On Oct. 7, Tilray announced results for its Q1 FY 2022 ended Aug. 31. The company’s net loss widened even as revenue rose 43%.

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