Marijuana stocks have been crashing badly right along with the markets over the past several weeks. However, the one pot investment that's been doing very well during this time is the BetaPro Marijuana Companies Inverse ETF (TSX:HMJI). The exchange-traded fund (ETF) effectively bets against the marijuana sector and its share price has doubled in the past six months.
With cannabis companies undergoing leadership changes, releasing poor financial results, and there just being a whole lack of positivity surrounding the industry, it's crippled many of the strongest names in the industry.
Aurora Cannabis (TSX:ACB)(NYSE:ACB) is down 84% over the same period while Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC) has lost about half of its value. Other marijuana stocks have performed even worse.
However, with their valuations crashing down so much of late, investors may be wondering whether there's much more room for them to drop. However, the reality is that given the challenging economic conditions today and cannabis companies being low on cash, we're likely to see some pot stocks close up shop – for good.
And if that happens, investors may be more alarmed than ever before and that could send pot stocks into an even deeper sell-off. Pot stocks can exercise reverse-splits to lift up their share prices.
If you're not optimistic that the industry will recover, investing in a reverse ETF like the BetaPro Marijuana Companies Inverse ETF may be a good way to take advantage of the downward trend in the industry.
However, it's not an investment for the risk-averse. Marijuana stocks are highly volatile and something like progress on legalization in the U.S. could quickly send their valuations up in a hurry.