TORONTO - Shares in marijuana company Tilray Inc. continued to soar, one day after the licensed producer said it got approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to export a cannabis drug to California for a clinical trial.
The move in the stock follows a nearly 30 per cent jump on Tuesday after the Nanaimo, B.C.- based firm announced it got the greenlight to export cannabis in capsule form to a researcher at a university in the U.S., where the drug is still illegal at the federal level.
The company will be exporting capsules with two active ingredients extracted from the cannabis plant for a clinical trial as a potential treatment for essential tremor, a neurological disorder that causes uncontrollable shaking.
Tilray shares shot up over US$230 just after the trading day began, but quickly backed off.
By early afternoon, the stock was up by roughly US$75.31 to US$226.78, or 48.59 per cent from its previous close of US$154.98.
Tilray completed its initial public offering in July with its shares priced at US$17 per share.
The licensed producer's market capitalization was roughly US$21.1 billion in the early afternoon.
Canopy Growth, which had been the largest cannabis company based on market value until Tilray surpassed it, had a market capitalization on Wednesday afternoon of $12.1 billion on the Nasdaq.
