Investing.com – Marijuana company Cronos posted a loss Tuesday, turning investor sentiment on weed stocks hazy ahead of several names in the sector set to report earnings this week.
Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) reported a wider-than-expected loss in the third quarter, despite nearly tripling revenue, as ramp-up in investments compressed margins. Its shares fell more than 3%.
Cronos reported a third-quarter loss of $0.04 share on revenue of $3.8 million, compared with expectations for $0.02 a share on revenue of $2.72 million.
Like most of its rivals, Cronos is hoping its string of investments to boost production will turn a profit as the legalization of marijuana in Canada has sparked up demand, leading to a supply shortage, which some analysts expect could last for up to a year.
Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB), deepened its retreat from a day earlier, when its third-quarter results showed a 260% jump in revenue, but was overshadowed by a sharp uptick in sales and marketing expenses.
The company said, however, that going forward, marketing and sales costs would be “quite a bit lower,” as the bulk of the costs during the quarter was related to the Canadian legalization.
Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), meanwhile, fell about 1% ahead of its third-quarter earnings report after market close Tuesday.
Wall Street expects the company to report a net loss of $0.14 a share on $10.12 million in revenue.
Tilray has been lauded by some on Wall Street as the pot stock to watch given its early mover advantage in the sector and its supply agreements with major Canadian pharmacies.
“We believe the company’s [Tilray’s] supply agreements with major canadian pharmacies could offer greater awareness and easier patient access to Tilray’s cannabis products,” Benchmark said last month.
“We expect Tilray to achieve meaningful share of the Canadian cannabis market based on initial supply agreements and an early mover advantage in creating national brands.”
Credit: investing.com
