We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Marijuana Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ:ACB) stands against the other marijuana stocks.
The United States of America is the country that consumes the most weed in the world. As we mentioned in our article – 30 Cities with the Highest Weed Consumption in the US – the American legal cannabis industry fared well in 2023 as legal sales across the 38 states that allow some form of regulated marijuana reached $28.8 billion, a 10.3% increase from the previous year. After an eventful 2024, the industry is expected to flourish even further. According to a report from the wholesale marketplace LeafLink, retail sales of cannabis reached a record $2.8 billion in October 2024, up 6.2% from last year. The data revealed that America’s total retail cannabis sales for this year are expected to be in the proximity of $32.6 billion.
The US legal weed industry also added 22,952 new jobs last year – a sign that the national business climate has somewhat stabilized following the turmoil of the previous two years. According to the 2024 Vangst Jobs Report, there were over 440,445 jobs supported by legal cannabis nationwide as of early 2024, an increase of 5.4% from 2023.
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Perhaps this year’s most positive news for the country’s legal cannabis sector came in April, when the Drug Enforcement Agency announced that it would act on the Biden administration’s call to reclassify marijuana from a ‘Schedule I’ drug, which includes heroin and LSD, to a less tightly regulated ‘Schedule III’ drug, which includes ketamine and some anabolic steroids. The decision marked a major policy shift by the federal government and while it would neither make the substance legal nor decriminalize it on a federal level, it would loosen quite a few restrictions around it and add fresh arguments for supporters of ballot measures seeking to legalize cannabis in states where it is still illegal. The process is lengthy and complex and will stretch well into the next year, but as the DEA finalizes its review, stakeholders from across the industry are closely monitoring developments.
Another encouraging development came in the form of a tweet from President-elect Donald Trump, in which he expressed support for a recreational cannabis legalization ballot initiative in his home state of Florida. He also backed up the marijuana industry’s access to the banking system and the ongoing federal cannabis rescheduling process. Whether this support will actually translate into action when Trump takes office for his second term remains to be seen.
However, 2024 ended with a slightly sour taste in the mouth of America’s cannabis stakeholders, as Florida’s cannabis legalization ballot measure failed to pass, despite historic levels of funding and a rigorous advertising campaign. This was a major blow to the industry as the Sunshine State was expected to become a $6 billion cannabis market by 2026, had Amendment 3 succeeded in meeting the required 60% threshold.
The setback inevitably impacted cannabis stocks, which witnessed a downturn following the news of the rejection. Amplify Alternative Harvest ETF, the first US ETF to target the global cannabis sector has fallen by over 31.6% since November 4, closing at $2.27 on December 24, 2024.
As of the writing of this article, 24 states have legalized recreational weed in America, in addition to the District of Columbia. However, possessing or selling marijuana remains a crime under federal law, punishable by prison time and fines.
Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds and picked the top 11 companies operating in the cannabis sector with the highest number of hedge fund investors. When two or more companies had the same number of hedge funds investing in them, we ranked them by the revenue of their last financial year instead. Following are the Best Marijuana Stocks According to Most Hedge Funds.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A modern cannabis retail store with a wide selection of products and vaporizers.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ:ACB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 6
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ:ACB) engages in the production, distribution, and sale of cannabis and cannabis-derived products across Canada, Europe, Australia, and South America. Since 2006, the company has developed more than 200 different medical products and is the leading provider of medical cannabis to Canadian patients – a market worth over $250 million in fiscal year 2023-24. The Edmonton-based producer has transformed itself from a Canadian recreational player into an international medical-cannabis powerhouse.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ:ACB) had a strong Q2 2025, with a total net revenue of $81.1 million, up from $63.1 million in the same period last year. Medical marijuana, which is its core segment, grew 41% YoY to reach $61.3 million. The company’s strategy of going global also seems to be paying off, as its international revenue increased 93% to $35 million, exceeding Canadian medical revenue for the first time and contributing 57% to total global medical cannabis revenue. Aurora is now number two in Australia, which is emerging as the largest medical cannabis market in the world outside of North America, sized at around $250 million annually according to the Pennington Institute. Germany also posted significant growth since the country adopted one of the most liberal legal approaches to cannabis in Europe.
As a result, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ:ACB) reported a net profit of $1.7 million in the last quarter, a notable YoY increase of 325%. This means that the company managed to report quarterly earnings of $0.04 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of a loss of $0.22 per share and topping consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. Aurora also ended the quarter with approximately $152 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt in its cannabis business.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ:ACB)’s focus on innovation and research, expanding international footprint, and debt-free balance sheet provides it a concrete edge over its competitors in the rapidly ballooning medical marijuana industry.
Overall ACB ranks 7th on our list of the best marijuana stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of ACB as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ACB but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
