What happened
Tilray Brands (TLRY), a leading cannabis and consumer packaged goods company in Canada, is facing another challenging day in the market. As of 12:14 p.m. ET on Friday, the company's stock price had fallen by 9.3% on sky-high volume. This latest decline brings Tilray's stock to a 48% loss over the past year and near its 52-week low.
So what
What's driving this latest dip? U.S. lawmakers are reportedly struggling to come to a consensus on the long-delayed SAFE Banking Act, which would give cannabis businesses access to basic financial services. Right now, cannabis businesses have to operate on a mostly all-cash basis, which has fueled an uptick in robberies in the industry.
Although Tilray wouldn't be directly affected by the passage of this financial services bill due to its Canadian roots, the company does have designs on expanding southward upon the federal legalization of cannabis in the United States. This political drama over the 10-year-old SAFE Banking Act underscores the enormous challenges inherent in passing anything marijuana-related in the country.
Now what
Is Tilray stock a buy on this pullback? Probably not. Although it has expanded its portfolio to include craft beer and spirits, the company's real appeal to stock investors is its cannabis business. Global cannabis sales are expected to grow at an exponential rate over the next 20 years as more countries legalize the plant for medicinal and recreational use.
Unfortunately, the massive U.S. market will remain off-limits to foreign companies like Tilray until cannabis is legalized at the federal level. The inability of U.S. lawmakers to pass the SAFE Banking Act doesn't bode well for widespread legalization, although a federal review of marijuana's status under the Controlled Substances Act is underway.
Investors might want to take a cautious approach with Canadian cannabis stocks like Tilray due to the real possibility that the U.S. will not end the federal prohibition on marijuana for an extended period.
