SHORT SELLERS MADE $1B ON POT STOCK CRASH

PHOTO BY RICK TAP ON UNSPLASH

Pot stock short sellers collected profits of $993.3M in 2019, according to a new analysis by S3 Partners. (Short sellers bet on stocks to fall.)
Last year was abysmal for pot stocks. Two big cannabis ETFs fell 43% and 36% respectively, as the mainstream S&P 500 index gained 32%.
MarketWatch

• It’s now very expensive to short pot stocks.

Separately, investors filed a class action suit against Trulieve, Florida’s largest MED company. The suit alleges Trulieve overstated corporate profits and misled defendants about cultivation practices.
Miami Herald

• The lawsuit follows a December report “Trulieve Cannabis Corp: Why We Believe the Company is a Fraud.” The report, by sometime short-seller Grizzly Research, is based in part on information gathered by drones at Trulieve cultivation sites.

• Trulieve said Grizzly’s report contains “several false, slanderous and misleading statements about the company,” and that Grizzly’s sole interest is profiting from a drop in Trulieve shares. The company says it is preparing legal recourse against Grizzly.

Following California-based MSO MedMen’s dismal stock performance, the Equity Guru mocked the company’s plan to partner with yoga classes.