Tuesday was generally a flat day on Wall Street, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 finished relatively close to unchanged for the session. In general, investors seem comfortable with how the coming third-quarter earnings season is likely to go, and overarching trends remain positive. Yet the marijuana stock niche has been extremely volatile lately, and today, several major cannabis-related companies saw their shares fall. Among the losers were Tilray (TLRY), New Age Beverages (NBEV), and India Globalization Capital (IGC 2.92%). Here's why they did so poorly.
Tilray can't go higher despite favorable comments
Shares of Tilray dropped 8% even though the marijuana producer received an upbeat assessment from analysts at Cowen. The analyst company almost tripled its share-price target, setting a new figure of $172 per share on Tilray. Cowen believes that the market for cannabis and related products could be even bigger than current projections suggest, and potentially booming demand for marijuana could give Tilray a key first-mover advantage as it expands to meet supply needs. Yet many see Tilray as being at a disadvantage to larger suppliers, and the stock's volatile price makes it suitable only for those with iron stomachs.
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The new age for New Age Beverages falls flat
New Age Beverages stock plunged 22.5% after the drink specialist's release of information on new cannabis-infused tea, water, and other products failed to live up to what investors had expected. In particular, even though New Age did talk about a lineup of beverages that could become popular in areas in which such products are legal, it hasn't yet been able to tout major orders from potential distribution partners. Until it does, investors might not have much confidence that New Age can stand up to much larger companies in the beverage industry, especially as those bigger players start to look at the opportunity that cannabis-infused drinks could give them to jump-start their growth.
More volatility for India Globalization
Finally, shares of India Globalization Capital continued their volatile stretch, falling another 28%. The company's boom-and-bust story is becoming all too familiar in the cannabis realm, with the stock having soared from just over $1 less than a month ago to as much as $14.50 before losing nearly two-thirds of its value in the past week. With only a handful of employees, India Globalization is one of the more speculative plays in the cannabis market, and even with its efforts to cash in on the cannabis-infused beverage market, there's little evidence to suggest that it can beat out better-established rivals and gain a lead in the industry.
