Canadian cannabis company Aphria Inc (TSX:APH, OTCQB:APHQF) has filed a form 40-F with US regulators to list on the New York Stock Exchange in a move that will boost liquidity and investor interest in the stock, if history is any guide.
The Leamington, Ontario-based company filed last week to list but has not yet set a date for its trading debut. Aphria’s listing would come on the back of another Canadian marijuana company Aurora Cannabis Inc’s (NYSE:ACB; TSX:ACB) much-hyped debut Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange which was unfortunately weighed down by a broad market pullback.
The two Canadian cannabis companies follow Cronos Group Inc (NASDAQ:CRON, TSX:Cron) and Canopy Growth Corp (TSE:WEED, NYSE:CGC) in dual listing on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and a US exchange. Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) headquartered in Nanaimo, Canada is uncommon in not also having a Canadian listing.
Aurora Cannabis CEO Terry Booth said a dual listing gave Canadian companies access to a broader group of institutional and retail investors.
"Our NYSE listing represents another important milestone that reflects our commitment to all stakeholders as we continue advancing domestic and international growth initiatives, which includes expanding our base of global institutional and retail investors," said Booth.
READ: Aphria reports higher 1Q fiscal first quarter revenue and looks ahead to cannabis legalization in Canada
Cronos, which listed on the Nasdaq in February, saw its daily trading volume jump from an average of 1.5 million in the week before its Nasdaq listing to a combined 12.8 million the week after, according to Bloomberg data. Canopy’s volume rose from 8.5 million the week before its May listing to 10.3 million after.
Aphria reported higher fiscal first-quarter revenues last week from strong sales. The company said in a statement revenue for the period ending on August 31, 2018, reached C$13,292, 10% higher than the prior quarter's C$12,026 and 117% higher than the same period last year.
Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld said the company "continued to ramp up our production capabilities" and moved "forward aggressively with the implementation of our automation infrastructure, which is expected to streamline production over the medium to longer terms."
"We believe the automation investment in particular will provide Aphria with a significant competitive advantage and further our industry-leading low-cost structure," said Aphria.
Aphria said Canadian-based production capacity is on schedule to reach 255,000 kgs per annum.
The company has supply agreements with every province in Canada and the Yukon Territory, ensuring access to Aphria products for 99.8% of the Canadian population.
Aphria has launched the company's initial portfolio of adult-use brands: Solei Sungrown Cannabis, RIFF, Good Supply, and Goodfields.
Contact Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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