Aphria gives the TSX a nice buzz while U.S. banks report mixed earnings

On Tuesday, American markets rose by 1% while the TSX barely nudged into the green. Surprisingly everyone in Toronto was Aphria, which reported a second-straight quarter of profits in a sector that has plunged by more than half since it was legalized a year ago. (Read our special cannabis investing report.) Aphria reported an increase in an 8% sales quarter-to-quarter to $20 million while its peers, Canopy and Aurora, are reporting declines or warnings.

On Tuesday, Aphria soared by 15.46% to $7.17, but also lifted its competitors, with Canopy climbing 3.35% to $26.53, and the sector ETF, HMMJ, jumping 5.12% to $10.89. Aphria’s triumph offered the cannabis sector a much needed buzz after suffering a hard first year . However, the Age of Edibles (aka Cannabis 2.0) is dawning and that should bring fresh revenues to this space (Stockchase will offer more analysis on cannabis this week.) After hours Tuesday, Aritzia reported a serious earnings beat.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, four big U.S. banks reported on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs came out a loser, but JP Morgan beat the street in profit, revenue and net interest income, raising its stock by 3.01%. Citigroup was another winner, also beating in revenue and profit expectations. Wells Fargo  disappointed, but its revenue beat the street, which was enough to lift the stock 1.7%. For once in a long while, old-school earnings dominated the headlines instead of geopolitics; the US-China trade negotiations were quiet today.

🌿 Aphria Inc +15.46%
🌿 Canopy Growth Corp. +3.35%
🌿 Horizon’s Medical Marijuana +5.12%
🏛 JP Morgan Chase & Co +3.01%
🏛 Wells Fargo +1.7%