- Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy appeared on CNBC’s “Mad Money” on Tuesday evening.
- He told Cramer that alcohol and drug companies should be looking at the cannabis space and that Canada was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to full legalization of the drug.
- Tilray shares were up 41.55% ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell.
- Watch Tilray trade in real time here.
The Canadian cannabis producer Tilray are soaring ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell after CEO Brendan Kennedy laid out his company’s growth prospects on CNBC’s “Mad Money.”
Shares were up 41.55% early Wednesday after Kennedy told the host Jim Cramer on Tuesday evening that Canada was just the tip of the iceberg for full legalization when it came to marijuana.
“I think you’ll see the third country within 12 months of October, and that’s where the real opportunity is,” he said. “It’s not about Canada – it’s about all the countries that follow.”
Big share gains like the one seen Wednesday have been somewhat common for cannabis producers.
For instance, Tilray shares surged 28.95% on Tuesday on word the company was the first to receive permission to export legal weed to the US; it plans to supply a clinical trial at the University of California at San Diego.
And on Monday, Aurora Cannabis soared more than 15% after a Bloomberg report suggested the cannabis producer was in talks with Coca-Cola to develop beverages infused with the nonpsychoactive compound CBD.
The cannabis frenzy started in the middle of August, when Canopy Growth received a $4 billion investment from Constellation Brands, the beverage company behind Corona beer and Svedka vodka.
And Kennedy suggested the entire alcohol industry needed to get involved in the marijuana space. "It's a great hedge for them," Kennedy told Cramer. "Whether you're an alcohol or an investor in an alcohol company, this is a global opportunity."
But that's not all. He also said pharmaceutical companies needed to get in the game, noting that Tilray had already formed a strategic alliance with Novartis.
"Cannabis is a substitute for prescription painkillers, prescription opioids, and so if you're an investor in a pharmaceutical company or you're a pharmaceutical company, you have to hedge the offset from cannabis substitution," he said.
Tilray shares have gained more than 800% through Tuesday since the company went public in mid-July.
