Aurora Cannabis closes first day on TSXV on a high

If you want to look for happy Canadian shareholders these days a good place to start would be the medical marijuana space.

The most recent evidence comes from Vancouver-based Aurora Cannabis (TSXV:ACB), which today celebrated its first day on the TSX Venture Exchange with a 14.8 per cent gain, adding on the to solid triple-digit gains the company has already posted in 2016. Its stock, which began the year at $0.60 today closed at $1.78, an all time high.

Aurora currently operates a 55,200 square foot production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, but has plans to open a new 600,000 square foot facility next year. The company believes the new facility will be the world’s largest greenhouse. Aurora management lists the graduation from the CSE as a part of a group of milestones that includes receiving a license from Health Canada to sell dried cannabis and brisk sales of its marijuana strains, which sell for eight dollars a gram.

“Listing on the TSX-V is an important milestone in our development, reflecting the remarkably rapid operational and commercial progress Aurora has made this year,” said Aurora CEO Terry Booth. “Visibility of the Company has increased significantly as a result of our recent financings, our industry leading patient registration rate, our strategic acquisition of CanvasRx, and the announcement of our plans to expand production capacity to more than 70,000 kg per year. We believe that trading on the TSX-V will enable us to engage and satisfy an even wider investor audience,” added Mr. Booth. “Aurora continues to set new standards in the industry, and we are focused strongly on further building shareholder value. We will continue the disciplined execution of our business strategy to solidify and expand our leadership position in the cannabis sector. We look forward to reporting on our progress as a more visible member of the community of listed companies.”

Today’s news follows on a big financing announcement for Aurora. On September 28, the company announced the completion of a $15-million debenture offering that management said would allow it to build a leadership position in the space. And, earlier in the month, Aurora announced the release of an encrypted mobile app that allows users to buy federally regulated marijuana. The company said the app could be me a more covenant option than ordering the same products from its website, and offers free delivery on orders of five grams or more.

“As far as we know, it is the first legal app for Android and Apple for federally-approved legal medical cannabis,” said company spokesman Cam Battley.