Canopy Growth: first cannabis company to list on the NYSE

Canopy Growth, one of Canada's largest cannabis producers, last Thursday became the first company in the sector to list on the New York Stock Exchange, but lost 6.7% on the first day to 28.20$.

On the same day, the Marijuana Index, which tracks 41 cannabis stocks, lost 2.09%.

Canopy Growth has also been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker WEED since 2014, already a first at the time for a medical cannabis producer. WEED shares took 400% in 2017 and gained 28% this year. It also made a name for itself last year when Constellation Brands, an American alcoholic beverage company, took a minority stake in the company.

Canopy CEO Bruce Linton said he was a little disappointed with the first day of trading, but added that he had seen «retail sales and institutional buying».

«We didn't come here for 1 day of trading,» he told The Street.

Listing on the NYSE opens the door to major investors and financing institutions in the United States, support that the company is seeking to globalize its development.

«It's the most reputable market in the world, and that's where you want to be listed,» said Sean Stiefel, portfolio manager at Navy Capital in New York. «It makes people much more inclined to trade and bank cannabis stocks when they're on the two major exchanges in the U.S.»

He also says that the interest of major U.S. banks rises sharply when a company's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, compared with listing on Canadian exchanges alone.

Canopy Growth and Cronos Group are the only two Canadian companies listed on the U.S. stock exchange, Cronos is listed on NASDAQ.