What happened
Shares of Canadian pot grower Aurora Cannabis (ACB -1.15%) jumped more than 11% on Friday before giving back most of those gains. The stock was up 2.3% as of 2:30 p.m. EST.
So what
Today's initial jump came after the company announced a new exclusive distribution agreement yesterday. The agreement with Canada's Great North Distributors is meant to "significantly bolster" Aurora's market position in Canada, the company said.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Aurora CEO Miguel Martin said in a statement, "Great North brings deep experience across the spectrum of sales capabilities that will further differentiate Aurora as a leader in the growing cannabis space."
Great North will begin running Aurora's sales execution across Canada on Jan. 25, 2021. The cannabis company has been working on a business turnaround over the past year. It has focused on consolidating its operations, controlling spending, and raising money to stem losses and begin a path to profitability.
Great North will "immediately bring value in sales execution to Aurora," according to the distributor's president Doug Wieland. Aurora investors shouldn't expect a transformation in the business simply from this agreement. But it may be a needed step in the right direction, potentially explaining the stock's gains today.
