What happened
Shares of the Canadian pot, liquor, and cannabis investing company SNDL (SNDL) (formerly Sundial Growers) were up by 9.2% as of 1:20 p.m. ET Tuesday. The retail cannabis giant's shares appear to be following the rest of its industry higher. After all, SNDL hasn't released any major news of late. But most of its Canadian peers in cannabis were enjoying a strong trading session.
So what
Despite the lack of material news from the cannabis space, optimism was growing that the U.S. Congress might pass at least some form of cannabis reform in the near future. That upbeat view stems from the fact that leading Senate Democrats officially introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) for consideration late last month.
Although the comprehensive CAOA is viewed as unlikely to pass, cannabis bulls have floated the idea that the landmark bill may ultimately pave the way for smaller, less politically divisive pieces of legislation -- such as a cannabis banking reform bill -- to make it through Congress within the next year or so. A handful of pro-cannabis Republican legislators have signaled their support for such limited measures.
Now what
SNDL would likely reap sizable benefits from U.S. cannabis banking reform. Its cannabis financing wing, SunStream BanCorp, ought to be able to capitalize on such a development by rapidly expanding its U.S.-based portfolio. That's definitely a speculative investing thesis, but the outcome that speculation is based on is not out of the realm of possibility.
