With just a single day of trading left in 2018, cannabis stocks, as measured by the Global Cannabis Stock Index, are on track to snap a two-year winning streak. After gains of about 90% in both 2016 and 2017, the index has declined 55% this year:

The big challenges for the sector this year were the run-up into it ahead of California’s legalization, the pressure on overall equity markets and disappointment over Canada’s legalization.

Despite the broad weakness, many names were able to provide positive returns. In fact, 13 companies that are in the current index and that were trading at the beginning of the year have managed gains, including Aleafia (TSXV: ALEF) (OTC: ALEAF), Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC), Cronos Group (TSX: CRON) (NASDAQ: CRON), CV Sciences (CVSI), HEXO Corp (TSX: HEXO) (OTC: HYYDF), Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR), iAnthus Capital (CSE: IAN) (OTC: ITHUF), KushCo Holdings (OTC: KSHB), Marimed (OTC: MRMD), Neptune Wellness Solutions (TSX: NEPT) (NASDAQ: NEPT), Organigram (TSXV: OGRMF) (OTC: OGRMF), Origin House (CSE: OH) (OTC: ORHOF) and TerrAscend (CSE: TER) (OTC: TRSSF).

What made these 13 stocks perform well? Some of the common themes included capital raises from institutional or strategic investors, business model shifts and revenue generation. It’s likely no coincidence that more than half of them are included in the New Cannabis Ventures Public Cannabis Company Revenue Tracker.

In this video, I share some perspective on each of the winning stocks. For those interested in learning more about investing in publicly-traded cannabis stocks, be sure to check out 420 Investor, where I provide in-depth coverage of the sector. Please note that New Cannabis Ventures provides Investor Dashboards for clients Canopy Growth, iAnthus Capital, KushCo Holdings, Organigram and TerrAscend.

Click the video below to play:

Exclusive article by Alan Brochstein, CFA

Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email