Investing.com - Cannabis stock Cronos Group rose in midday trade on Wednesday after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch upgraded it to buy from underperform.
Analysts Christopher Carey cited the prospect of the Canadian-based company expanding into the U.S. market as the reason for the upgrade.
Cronos CEO Mike Gorenstein told Wall Street analysts on Tuesday that the company plans to be aggressive on its CBD launch in the U.S., prompting Carey to increase his rating, Bloomberg reported.
Carey noted in a research note that Cronos' partnership with Altria Group (NYSE:MO) is the key to the U.S. and he sees the potential of Cronos leveraging Altria’s distribution as what will distinguish it from other cannabis brands.
Cronos (NASDAQ:CRON) jumped 7.5%, while Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) fell 1.6% and Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) was down 1.8%. Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) slumped 3.5%.