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- Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy appeared on CNBC’s “Mad Money” on Tuesday evening.
- He told Jim Cramer that alcohol and drug companies should be looking at the cannabis space and that Canada was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to full legalization of the drug.
- Tilray shares touched a high of $300 apiece on Wednesday, up more than 93%, before giving up almost all of their gains. Shares settled up 38.12% at $214.06.
- Watch Tilray trade in real time here.
The Canadian cannabis producer Tilray soared Wednesday morning after CEO Brendan Kennedy laid out his company’s growth prospects on CNBC’s “Mad Money.”
Shares touched a high of $300 apiece — up more than 93%. But things quickly unraveled late in the session, with the stock falling to $168.33 — up just 8.61% — with less than 30 minutes left in the trading day. Trading was halted for volatility at least five times before shares settled at $214.06, up 38.12%.
Kennedy told the host Jim Cramer on Tuesday evening that Canada was just the tip of the iceberg for full legalization when it came to marijuana.
“I think you’ll see the third country within 12 months of October, and that’s where the real opportunity is,” he said. “It’s not about Canada — it’s about all the countries that follow.”
And Kennedy suggested the entire alcohol industry needed to get involved in the marijuana space. “It’s a great hedge for them,” Kennedy told Cramer. “Whether you’re an alcohol or an investor in an alcohol company, this is a global opportunity.”
But that’s not all. He also said pharmaceutical companies needed to get in the game, noting that Tilray had already formed a strategic alliance with Novartis.
“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,” he said.
Big share gains like the one seen early Wednesday have been somewhat common for cannabis producers.
For instance, Tilray shares surged 28.95% on Tuesday on word the company was the first to receive permission to export legal weed to the US; it plans to supply a clinical trial at the University of California at San Diego.
And on Monday, Aurora Cannabis soared more than 15% after a Bloomberg report suggested the cannabis producer was in talks with Coca-Cola to develop beverages infused with the nonpsychoactive compound CBD.
The cannabis frenzy started in the middle of August, when Canopy Growth received a $4 billion investment from Constellation Brands, the beverage company behind Corona beer and Svedka vodka.
At Wednesday’s peak, Tilray shares had gained more than 1,000% since the company went public in mid-July.
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