Watch for More Gains as Aphria Stock Powers up and surprisesWatch for More Gains as Aphria Stock Powers up and Surprises Analysts Don't be put off by Aphria stock's vertical move - there's plenty more where that came from By David Moadel Oct 29, 2019, 7:40 am EDT It was the cannabis-industry news item of the month, and possibly of the entire year: Aphria (NYSE:APHA) posted an astounding gain after the company absolutely crushed earnings and goosed the Aphria stock higher. If you already owned shares, then watching the Aphria stock price ascend 22% was a cause for celebration; if youve been sitting on the sidelines, though, now you have to ask yourself whether its still a buy at the new price point. Watch for More Gains as Aphria Stock Powers up and Surprises Analysts Thats what happened on Oct. 15, and on Oct. 25 Aphria stock jumped up almost 9%, by which time its new price hardly resembled the APHA stock price of two weeks prior. Is it still safe to purchase shares at this point, or should traders fear exhaustion and a retracement? Timely Gains in APHA Stock After a tough summer and an even tougher September for pot stocks, Aphrias blockbuster earnings report couldnt have come at a better time. Cannabis-stock valuations were lagging and investors in APHA stock and other weed stocks were feeling panicky and exhausted. Not that the global marijuana market is doing poorly by any means; if anything, the pro-pot movement is as strong as ever. Under the auspices of Florida International University, Jolle Anne Morenos legal-studies research paper notes that the groundswell of pro-cannabis support has led to unprecedented consumption of the product: Growing marijuana support, markets, and consumption are a global phenomenon. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the annual rate of marijuana consumption worldwide is approximately 147 million individuals or nearly 2.5% of the global population. And so, I saw no reason to lose your cool during the summer heat as cannabis stocks like APHA succumbed to price pressure. The next thing you knew, Aphria lifted the entire sector out of the doldrums with an earnings beat that the pessimistic analyst community clearly wasnt ready for. The Experts Were Off, Way, Way Off I wont go on a rant here about how analysts get to keep their jobs even when their forecasts are way off the mark, but suffice it to say that the analyst community didnt exactly earn their paychecks with their Aphria earnings estimates. For instance, the experts projected a loss of (in Canadian dollars) CAD$0.02 per share for Aphrias first fiscal quarter of 2020; the actual result was a gain of CAD$0.07 per share.