Largest Canadian & American Cannabis Stocks DOWN Drastically In 2024!

An Introduction

What’s the Difference Between LPs and MSOs?

The main difference lies in their geographical focus and regulatory environment:

• LPs are cannabis companies based in Canada. They are licensed by Health Canada to produce and sell medical cannabis and operate in a federally legal market, which allows them to access banking services and institutional investors but they are limited to the Canadian market and face strict regulations.
• MSOs are cannabis companies based in the United States. They operate in multiple states where cannabis is legal, either for medical or recreational use. MSOs face a more fragmented regulatory environment, as cannabis laws vary from state to state. They do not have access to federal banking services and institutional investors due to federal prohibition and, as such, have much to gain from country-level reform in the US, and are eager to see more welcoming federal laws that will allow their businesses to develop further.

Tax-Loss Selling

Most investors (if not all!) have seen their investments (speculation?) in Canadian Cannabis LP and American Cannabis MSO stocks decline this year and many have taken advantage of tax-loss selling provisions by selling their losers so they can offset their gains from other investments during the year. This always has a profoundly negative affect on the prices cannabis stocks in December and it was no different this year as I forecast in my previous article entitled, Tax Loss Selling To Drag Down Cannabis Stocks Even Further By End Of December. Listen to the MunAiMarkets theme song and join the rich man’s world!

What Is Tax-Loss Selling?

As Alan Brochstein wrote in an article entitled “Cannabis Investors Should Take Advantage of This Annual Opportunity”: “As the year’s end approaches, it’s a great time for investors to take action to reduce their near-term tax liability [and,] for cannabis investors, this is especially important [again] this year…

Those who booked gains on the way up but didn’t book losses…can deduct up to $3,000 each year in capital losses and can carry over excess losses into the future, so selling some cannabis stocks at a loss can reduce one’s income tax to some degree, even if there aren’t gains to offset…[Remember]…one doesn’t have to exit the market…[only] stay out of the stock sold for 30 days…[before buying] it back…” Follow MunAiMarkets on Facebook and never miss an article.

What Happened This December?

The sell-off was true to form as expected again this year. Below are the details for the month of December and for all of 2024.

The Marketplace

The 5 constituents in the MunAiMarkets Canadian LP Stocks Portfolio have market capitalizations ranging from $200M to $1,130M (averaging $540M) and trading above $1.00 (averaging $2.39) . The 7 constituents in the MunAiMarkets American MSO Stocks Portfolio have market capitalizations ranging from $45M to $1,870M (averaging $707M) and trading above $0.40 (averaging $2.41).

Below are how the stocks in each portfolio performed in 2024, in descending order, and in December:

The MunAiMarkets Canadian LP Stocks Portfolio

1. Organigram (OGI): UP 22.9% in 2024; UP 6.6% in December
2. Cronos Group (CRON): DOWN 3.3% in 2024; DOWN 2.9% in December
3. Aurora Cannabis (ACB): DOWN 13.6% in 2024; DOWN 6.6% in December;
4. Tilray Brands (TLRY): DOWN 42.2% in 2024; DOWN 1.5% in December; 
5. Canopy Growth (CGC): DOWN 46.4% in 2024; DOWN 29.6% in December;

On average, the 5 constituents were DOWN 24.0% in 2024 and were DOWN 10.7% in December.

Go HERE for a live chart (updated minute-by-minute) of each constituent in the portfolio.

TheMunAiMarkets American MSO Stocks Portfolio

The hype surrounding the many fledging American cannabis stocks began in earnest in February, 2020,  culminating in a 751% increase 12 months later (as tracked by the 7 largest such stocks in the MunAiMarkets American Cannabis MSOs Portfolio at the time) only to decline 66% by February, 2022 and, believe it or not, a further 66% by February, 2023. The Portfolio increased somewhat by February, 2024, but has gone down even further since then and is now DOWN 91.4% from its peak in February, 2021 and the Portfolio is now trading BELOW what it was when it began its parabolic move back in February, 2021!

Below are how the constituents in the MunAiMarkets American Cannabis MSOs Portfolio performed in 2024, in descending order and in December:

1. Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF): DOWN 9.2% in 2024; DOWN 21.4% in December
2. Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF): DOWN 31.9% in 2024; DOWN 17.3% in December
3. Cresco Labs (CRLBF): DOWN 39.3% in 2024; DOWN 30.5% in December
4. TerrAscend Corporation (TSNDF): DOWN 63.2% in 2024; DOWN 24.1% in December
5. Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF): DOWN 65.1% in 2024; DOWN 24.9% in December
6. Verano Holdings (VRNOF): DOWN 73.4% in 2024; DOWN 16.3% in December
7. Ayr Wellness (AYRWF): DOWN 78.9% in 2024; DOWN 43.3% in December

On average, the 7 constituents were DOWN 43.6% in 2024 and were DOWN 20.9% in December. Ayr Wellness has been removed from the Portfolio going forward as its market capitalization has dropped below the minimum of $50M market capitalization. When Ayr is excluded from the above calculation the decline in 2024 and this past December changes to -41.3% and -20.2%, respectively.

Go HERE for a live chart (updated minute-by-minute) of each constituent in the portfolio.

The MunAiMarkets Conservative “Cannabis” Stocks Portfolio

According to data from a new survey from Gallup 15% of U.S. adults reported that they smoked cannabis in the last week compared to only 11% for cigarettes with 47% of Americans saying that they have tried marijuana in the past year so it is no wonder that 5 of the major tobacco companies have invested heavily in cannabis companies in the past few years.

Below is how the stocks of those 5 companies performed in 2024, in descending order, and the cannabis company they are invested in:

1. Imperial Brands (IMBBY): UP 37.9% in 2024
   • has a 19.9% stake in Auxly Cannabis Group (CBWTF)
2. Altria Group (MO): UP 29.9% in 2024
   • has a 45% stake in Cronos Group (CRON)
3. British American Tobacco (BTI): UP 23.7% in 2024
   • has a C$346M product development partnership with Organigram Holdings (OGI)
4. Constellation Brands (STZ): DOWN 8.6% in 2024 
   • has a 39% stake in Canopy Growth (CGC)
5. Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD): DOWN 21.8% in 2024
   • has a $100 million joint venture with Tilray (TLRY)

On average, the 5 constituents were DOWN 1.9% in 2024 and were DOWN 7.4% in December.

Go HERE for a live chart (updated minute-by-minute) of each constituent in the portfolio.

Conclusion

With the MSO and LP stocks being down so dramatically in 2024 this article is a good place to start doing your due diligence (i.e. thoroughly check all relevant aspects of the company to ensure that all facts are accurate and that there are no hidden issues) if you would like to speculate on their future performances. Furthermore, should you want to be invested in the cannabis market but can do without the volatility then this article provides some insight into investing in cannabis the conservative way.

The performance of cannabis stocks has been abysmal since they went parabolic peaking in February 2020 only to crash 91% since then (see detail here) so proceed with caution in 2025. This could all change, however, with:

• the passage of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act which aims to provide safe harbor to financial institutions that wish to service the cannabis industry. This legislation would allow banks and other financial institutions to provide services to marijuana businesses that are licensed under state law, while also allowing marijuana businesses to take standard IRS tax deductions.
• and the amendment of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which sets out the federal drug policy that regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of cannabis, from a Schedule 1 drug (drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse) to a less stringently regulated Schedule III drug (drugs with a moderate to low potential for abuse and accepted medical uses) which would dramatically increase in the usage of  recreational cannabis across the U.S..

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