Stock Market Moves: Verano, Leafly

Both Verano Holdings Corp. (CSE: VRNO) (OTCQX: VRNOF) and Leafly Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFLY) made announcements regarding the exchanges where the cannabis stocks are traded. Verano is moving its common shares to the Cboe from the Canadian Securities Exchange, which handles more companies than the Cboe but is also known for having less stringent requirements than the Toronto Stock Exchange. Leafly announced it was back in the good graces of NASDAQ.

Verano

Verano said it plans to delist its shares from the Canadian Securities Exchange or CSE and move over to Canada’s Neo Exchange Inc., operating as Cboe Canada. The company said the move to Cboe Canada does not require it to recapitalize or undertake any corporate restructuring. A statement to investors stated that shares will continue trading in Canada on the Cboe Canada under the same symbol “VRNO” and in the U.S. on the OTCQX under the same symbol “VRNOF.”

“In light of recent policy momentum, we are taking this strategic and momentous step with Cboe Canada, which we believe will better position the Company to capitalize on future legislative catalysts in the U.S.,” said George Archos, Verano Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We continuously evaluate opportunities in the capital markets and have confidence that moving to Cboe Canada will provide improved access to liquidity for our investors through its market-making services, as well as through potential inclusion in global benchmarks such as FTSE and MSCI. Additionally, we believe the move to Cboe Canada will position the Company well for a timely transition to a U.S. listing should the industry make further inroads in D.C. As one of the largest global equity exchange operators in the world, Cboe operates in 26 markets across multiple asset classes, and we are looking forward to taking this next step in our capital markets strategy with Cboe Canada.”

Leafly

Leafly announced that on September 29, 2023, it received formal notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market confirming the company has regained compliance with the minimum bid price rule set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). In other words, if a company’s stock price falls below $1, the exchange gives the company 180 days to get the price back up. Leafly was first notified by the exchange on November 2, 2022.

In September 2023, Leafly conducted a 1 for 20 reverse stock split in order to push the stock price higher so that it could stay on the NASDAQ exchange and the strategy has paid off.