The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (NYSEArca: MJ) gained over 10% as two of its holdings, cannabis stocks Tilray (TLRY) and Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC), were both up 50% and 7%, respectively. In addition, other MJ holdings surged as GW Pharmaceuticals was up over 7% and Cronos Group climbed over 20% as of 11:45 a.m. ET.
Tilray, in particular, has seen its valuation multiply tenfold thus far this year and more than double just within the past five days. The first U.S.-listed ETF to target the cannabis and marijuana industry is now up 3.18% year-to-date and 10.66% within the past year, according to Yahoo! Finance performance numbers.
Related: Marijuana ETF Climbs as Tilray Becomes First Canadian Company to Import Pot to U.S.
MJ seeks to provide investment results correspond generally to the total return performance of the Prime Alternative Harvest Index, which is concentrated in the pharmaceuticals and tobacco industries. The serendipitous growth of these cannabis stocks may force large pharmaceutical companies to partner with these companies to effectively hedge against the marijuana medicine industry invading their market share, according to Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy.
“Cannabis is a substitute for prescription painkillers, prescription opioids, and so if you’re an investor in a pharmaceutical company or you’re a pharmaceutical company, you have to hedge the offset from cannabis substitution,” Kennedy told CNBC in an interview.
Cannabis stocks have been receiving a bevy of positive news, including investment firm Morgan Stanley saying that GW Pharmaceuticals’ new cannabinoid-based therapy will be a “blockbuster.” Additionally, beverage giant Coca-Cola is looking to enter the marijuana industry space with purported interest in Canadian company Aurora Cannabis Inc to help stymie slowing soda sales.
Last month, Constellation Brands, an international producer and beer marketer, invested $5 billion in Canopy Growth Corp. Canopy Growth hopes to parlay this capital infusion, along with a high-level management team and a high-tech distribution center, into becoming a global powerhouse in its respective market.
“Although (Canopy management is) still working through the challenges surrounding the onset and duration of a cannabis-infused beverage, they feel that the benefits of zero/low calories and limited hangover will drive consumers towards this product and away from beverage alcohol (management specifically highlighted beer/spirits as the two categories most at risk),” said analysts led by Andrea Teixeira.
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