Will pot stocks rebound in 2026?

Beacon Securities analyst Russell Stanley said in a January 15 industry update that the post-correction recovery in U.S. cannabis equities remains intact, with technical trends continuing to improve following the sector’s December pullback.

Stanley reiterated that the sell-on-the-news correction following President Donald Trump’s December executive order directing the Attorney General to advance cannabis rescheduling from Schedule I to Schedule III appears complete. In a prior January 5 note, Beacon had argued that key uptrends remained intact, a view the firm said continues to be supported by recent market action.

The AdvisorShares Pure U.S. Cannabis ETF, which Beacon uses as its primary benchmark, has continued to trend higher and is now up about 15% from its post-correction intraday low of US$4.29 reached on December 23. Momentum indicators across the group have turned modestly positive after relative strength indices corrected sharply from overbought levels seen in mid-December, suggesting the sector is rebuilding upside momentum rather than rolling over.

Within the large-cap MSO universe, Stanley noted that Trulieve Cannabis (Trulieve Cannabis Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials  CSE:TRUL) continues to demonstrate leadership, maintaining relative strength versus the MSOS benchmark on a currency-adjusted basis. The stock has held its rising trend channel through the recent correction, with pullbacks finding support at higher lows, reinforcing its position as one of the sector’s technical leaders.

Verano Holdings (Verano Holdings Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials CBOE:VRNO) has also begun to show improving technical characteristics, with relative strength versus MSOS turning positive after a prolonged period of consolidation. Stanley said the stock is emerging from a basing pattern, with improving momentum suggesting early-stage outperformance if sector strength persists.

A similar pattern is developing in Green Thumb Industries (Green Thumb Industries Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials CSE:GTII,), where relative performance has begun to improve following a corrective phase. Beacon noted that GTII’s trend structure has remained intact, and recent price action indicates a potential transition from consolidation back toward leadership as broader sector sentiment stabilizes.

By contrast, Curaleaf Holdings (Curaleaf Holdings Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:CURA) has lagged peers on a relative basis but is showing signs of technical stabilization. Stanley said CURA’s momentum indicators have reset materially from overbought conditions, and while relative strength remains weaker than TRUL or GTII, the stock continues to track the broader sector recovery and could benefit from further upside if leadership rotation broadens.

Stanley said the improving technical backdrop across multiple MSOs supports a constructive near-term outlook for the group. While regulatory headlines remain a source of volatility, Stanley said the combination of stabilizing momentum, improving relative strength, and intact longer-term trends suggests the sector is transitioning from correction to recovery rather than entering a renewed downtrend.

-30-