Aurora Drops On CCO Departure; Short-Sellers Boost Activity In Cannabis Sector
Investing.com | Dec 24, 2019 16:46
Shares of Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB), (TSX:ACB) plunged about 10% Monday, hitting their lowest point in more than two years following the news that its chief corporate officer Cam Battley had abruptly left the company, according to an announcement made Saturday.
Battley, who was a prominent spokesman for Aurora, joined the company in 2016 and was named CCO in 2018. He leaves to take a position on the board of Australia-based MedReleaf. He was appointed to the board of the privately-owned medical cannabis grower in November, a move that was recently approved by the Australian Federal Office of Drug Control. Aurora owns a 10% stake in MedReleaf Australia and 50% of its voting rights.
“Cam has been an integral part of the development, growth and expansion of Aurora,” said Aurora CEO Terry Booth. “We are grateful for Cam’s leadership and passion over his many years with Aurora. I am sure Cam will be successful as he moves on to tackle Australia.”
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The announcement comes as the Edmonton-based Aurora struggles with revenue figures that failed to meet expectations and even the company’s own guidance, putting its cash reserves in the spotlight.
Adding to the company’s issues is its recent announcement that it is putting a halt to operations at two major greenhouses in order to curb expenses. The installations affected include one in Alberta and one in Denmark. The Alberta facility, on the outskirts of Medicine Hat, had been described as the world’s largest greenhouse by square footage. The move was deemed necessary to keep expenses in check in the face of a reported 25% drop in revenue.
The company’s stock has lost more than 55% in 2019.
Even Short-Sellers Hitting Tougher Times
While some investors were betting on marijuana stocks in 2019 and losing, short-sellers were betting against it — and winning.
Short-sellers made year-to-date gains of US$993 million (C$1.3 billion), according to figures compiled by analytics firm S3 Partners.
The biggest short-side wins came for those betting against Aurora Cannabis, Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON), (TSX:CRON) and Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY).
But the last month, according to the report, has been tough even for short-sellers. The S3 Partners’ data shows these investors are down US$132 million (C$174 million) for the month. Among the biggest short-side losers for December are Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), (TSX:WEED), GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), Aphria (NYSE:APHA), (TSX:APHA) and Cronos Group.
“Short exposure in the cannabis sector is up $843 million (C$1.1 billion), +35%, in 2019,” the report states. “Short selling is fairly concentrated to a handful of names, with only six stocks topping $100 million (C$132 million) of short interest. The top 20 shorts make up almost 84% of the total shorting executed in the sector with a total short interest of $3.3 billion (C$4.3 billion) …”
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