How to trade Aurora Cannabis shares

What is Aurora Cannabis?

Aurora Cannabis – or just ‘Aurora’ – is a licensed producer of medical and recreational cannabis headquartered in Edmonton, Canada. Since it was founded in 2006, Aurora Cannabis has pursued an aggressive growth strategy by acquiring multiple competitors and expanding its production capacity.

Aurora Cannabis is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘ACB’.

Today, Aurora is one of the largest cannabis producers in the world, with operations in over 25 countries.

What is Aurora Cannabis’s stock price history?

Aurora Cannabis graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol ‘ACB’ in July 2017, in light of its growth and market presence. The share price grew rapidly post-IPO as interest in the cannabis market accelerated.

Mergers and acquisitions helped to increase Aurora’s market presence further, giving the share price a few short-term boosts in 2017. Aurora acquired 10 businesses in the cannabis market in 2017-2018 – including competitors CanniMed Therapeutics, MedReleaf and ICC Labs.

Aurora Cannabis has also faced challenges and price fluctuations. In 2018, the stock closed the year at a lower price than in 2017. Aurora was due to list on the New York Stock Exchange later that year, and market expectations were high. But supply chain and regulatory issues arose after the Canadian government legalised recreational cannabis use, and earnings reports showed increasing losses and operating costs. Aurora eventually listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2018.

Restructuring efforts, layoffs and a reported loss of over 3.3 billion Canadian dollars in 2019 led to a huge dip – and the Aurora Cannabis share price has yet to recover as of July 2024. The company even executed a reverse stock split in 2020 at a ratio of 1 for 12, to meet the minimum listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and therefore stop ACB’s delisting.

Aurora Cannabis changed stock exchanges in the US in 2021, simultaneously listing on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and delisting from the NYSE. The company cited ‘cost efficiencies’ as the main reason for the move.

Investor sentiment in Aurora Cannabis and the broader licensed cannabis production industry remains volatile in 2024. So long as the industry's future is uncertain, there’s likely volatility in store for the Aurora Cannabis share price.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

What factors might affect the Aurora Cannabis share price?

Aurora Cannabis’s stock price can be impacted by a range of events. Here are a few that traders should watch out for.

• Acquisitions and mergers: When a company announces a new acquisition, it may signal growth and boost investor confidence. A failed bid, on the other hand, could have a negative impact on sentiment. For the most part, Aurora’s acquisitions in 2017-2018 correlated with a rise in share price – but momentum may falter if the wider market faces a downturn. For example, the Aurora share price dropped during the decline of licensed cannabis production stocks from late 2018, despite acquisitions.
• Financial performance: Quarterly and yearly earnings reports can have a substantial impact on market sentiment and share prices. Surpassing goals can lead to short-term price rises, which is what happened when Aurora Cannabis announced a revenue increase for the fiscal year of 2019. However, failure to achieve targets may lead to a dip in share price and investor confidence, like when Aurora’s Q3 2019 earnings fell short of expectations and the share price value dropped.
• Legislation and regulatory uncertainty: Licensed cannabis production currently exists in a relatively low number of markets. Government policies regarding the drug’s use have a direct impact on companies like Aurora Cannabis ability to expand operations to new markets.
• Competition and innovation: As licensed cannabis production grows as a sector, competition for market share increases. For Aurora Cannabis, this can lead to price wars – lowering the profit margin on products – encouraging tactics such as new product innovations and strategic partnerships to stand out from the crowd. The success or failure of these tactics may lead to an increase or a decrease in share price.

What are Aurora Cannabis’s stock trading hours?

Aurora Cannabis is listed on two stock exchanges: the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market, which both have the same stock market trading hours.

• Toronto Stock Exchange stock market trading hours are Monday to Friday from 2.30pm to 9.00pm (UTC).
• Trading hours for the Nasdaq Stock Market are also Monday to Friday from 2.30pm to 9.00pm (UTC).

You can follow Aurora’s performance live with our Aurora Cannabis share price chart.

How to trade on the Aurora Cannabis share price

You have a few options available to you if you want to take a position on Aurora Cannabis shares. Let’s take a look at a couple.

First, you can buy physical shares in the company through the exchange on which it’s listed. In this case, investing in Aurora Cannabis stocks means you will own a share, or shares, in the company.

Alternatively, you can trade a derivative product like a contract for difference (CFD) on the underlying Aurora Cannabis share price, and speculate on its price movements without actually owning shares.

You can find out the key differences between trading derivatives and investing with our helpful guide. But in short: a CFD is a financial contract, typically between a broker and a trader, where one party agrees to pay the other the difference in the value of a security, between the opening and closing of the trade. 

Unlike with traditional investing, you can either hold a long position (speculating that the price will rise) or a short position (speculating that the price will fall).

Another key difference is that CFDs are traded on margin, which means that you can get exposure leverage, enabling you to command larger positions with a relatively small outlay. This means that both your profits and losses can be amplified, making leveraged trading risky. You can learn how to trade shares using CFDs in our comprehensive guide.

To trade Aurora Cannabis stock CFDs with us, just sign up for a Capital.com account. Once you’re verified, you can use our easy-to-use web platform or mobile app.

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