Weekly Roundup on the Cannabis Sector & Psychedelic Sector

Key Takeaways; Cannabis Sector

• High Tide’s third-quarter revenue rose 18% to C$95.4 million; in addition, the company closed a $19 million non-dilutive credit arrangement.

Key Takeaways; Psychedelic Sector

• Cybin announced key research and development milestones, beating anticipated timeframe.

• Awakn reported strong Q2 earnings. The company also announced participation in a global investment conference.

This week, the S&P 500 fell more than 4% as a result of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by 75 basis points to combat rising inflation. The stock market is typically being pressured lower by these rising interest rates and currency volatility, and the longer the interest rates stay higher, the more the concerns of a global recession continue to intensify. Though the market is currently in a bearish state, some sectors are nevertheless doing well despite the uncertainties. Here is a weekly summary of the top companies in the cannabis and psychedelic sectors that dominated the news.

Top Marijuana Companies for Week

#1: High Tide

High Tide Inc. (NASDAQ: HITI), a prominent cannabis retailer with brick-and-mortar stores and global e-commerce assets, reported its third quarter 2022 financial results, showing a 98% growth in revenue and the eleventh consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA.

High Tide, Canada’s biggest non-franchised retailer, announced third-quarter revenue of C$95.4 million, up 18% from the second quarter and up 98% from the same period last year. In addition, the company reduced its net loss from $12 million a year earlier and from C$8 million sequentially to C$2.72 million. Additionally, earnings came in at a loss of five cents per share compared to a loss of three cents per share during the same period last year.

High Tide CEO, Raj Grover, said in a news release, “High Tide now sits within striking distance of having the highest revenue of any cannabis company reporting in Canadian dollars.”

The financial figures showed that C$80.7 million of sales was generated in Canada, while C$12.7 million and C$1.9 million of revenue came from the United States and internationally respectively. In comparison to the same period the previous year, revenues increased by 110% in Canada, 33% in the United States, and 1,486% internationally.

High Tide’s discount membership model, which saw daily store sales increase by 18% over the previous quarter and by 46% since last year, is largely responsible for the company’s success in brick-and-mortar stores.

According to Statistics Canada data, the Cabana Club loyalty program, which is the largest in Canadian cannabis retail, surpassed 750,000 Members, with over 90% of daily transactions conducted by club members. It was also reported that the 750,000 Cabana Club members, represented more than 12% of the cannabis consumers across the country, excluding Quebec.

“This membership number was our initial goal when we launched our discount club model last October, and we have now met our target in under a year,” Grover said. “We look forward to rolling out our Cabana Elite program in the near term. This program will let members access additional benefits for a small recurring fee, while the existing Cabana Club program will remain free of charge,” he said.

High Tide also announced the closing of a $19 million senior secured credit facility with connectFirst Credit Union Ltd., with an initial period of five years and at connectFirst’s floor interest rate. The company said that it intended to increase the number of stores with the money raised.

Top Psychedelic Companies for Week

#1: Awakn

Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (NEO: AWKN) (OTC: AWKNF) reported strong financial results as revenue increased along with patients, demonstrating the rising demand for addiction-focused psychedelic therapy. This revelation came after the Canadian biotechnology company released its financial report card for the second quarter ended July 31.

Through its clinics, Awakn reported revenues of C$339,872 for the second quarter, compared to zero the year before. The second quarter’s revenue increased by C$86,718, which was 34% increase compared to the first quarter.

According to the company, the delivery of ketamine-assisted therapy at the London, Bristol, and Oslo Awakn clinics was the main factor in the surge in revenue during the historically slowest time of the year for their services.

Over the course of the quarter, Awakn received approval for its Phase III clinical trial for ketamine-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder treatment. Furthermore, the company was given C$2.5 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research of the United Kingdom to pay for 66% of the trial’s expenses. This is the first time a government agency has funded a Phase III trial in psychedelics.

Anthony Tennyson, the CEO of Awakn, commented on the profitable results, saying “today’s results and revenue growth demonstrate the continued momentum building in our business and the successful execution of our business plan in both pillars of the business: R&D and Commercialization.”

The company reported that it had $481,830 in cash. Additionally, it announced the closing of a private placement in which 1,880,454 units were sold for $0.55 each, generating gross proceeds of $1,034,250.

Awakn stated that it expects to complete its behavioral study of ketamine in gambling addiction over the remaining months of the fiscal year. The company also anticipates that it’s going to receive regulatory and ethics permission for its Phase III clinical trial for ketamine-assisted therapy.

The company said it will also attempt to expand the commercialization of its therapeutic products in the United States and Canada, by securing more licensing partners to use its intellectual property, which includes ketamine-assisted therapy for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.

In addition to reporting strong revenue results, Awakn announced its participation in the H.C. Wainwright Global Investment Conference on September 27th at 10:00am ET.

#2: Cybin

Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing psychedelics into therapeutics, said that it had achieved significant research and development milestones outlined in the company’s acquisition agreement with Adelia Therapeutics in 2020. The milestones were attained earlier than anticipated, which has aided Cybin in moving forward with the next stage of developing a clinical therapeutic.

The accomplishment of these milestones was essential in moving Cybin’s psychedelic programs from the lab to the clinic, which will give the company the opportunity to find potential new drug formulations and delivery systems, develop clinical protocols for psychedelic compounds, and support the clinical-stage development of CYBN’s proprietary CYB003 and CYB004 programs for major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders.

“It is extremely gratifying that we have been able to progress our ambitious R&D pipeline – from discovering new drug candidates to entering the clinic – ahead of our projected schedule,” said Cybin CEO, Doug Drysdale, in the press release.

The goal of Cybin is to develop safe and efficient treatments for patients to address a wide range of mental health conditions. To this end, the company collaborates with a network of top partners and internationally renowned scientists. Headquartered in Canada and founded in 2019, Cybin is operating in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

 

 

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