The cannabis producer Tilray jumps after beating on sales and posting a bigger-than-expected loss

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Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy speaks during the Web Summit 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal on November 8, 2018.

• Tilray, the cannabis producer, reported first-quarter results Tuesday afternoon.
• Shares jumped 6% in after-hours trading as sales topped expectations, but the company posted a wider-than-expected loss.
• Watch Tilray trade live.

Tilray, the Canadian cannabis producer, reported a first-quarter loss on Tuesday that was wider than analysts forecast, but shares jumped in extended trading as revenue topped expectations.

Here's what Tilray reported, compared with what Wall Street analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting:

• Adjusted loss per share: $0.27 (-$0.24 expected)
• Revenue: $23 million ($21.4 million expected)

Tilray shares have been on a wild ride over the last year, soaring as high as $300 last September before sinking into year-end. They finished at $48.74 on Tuesday, down 84% from their peak.

The rise and fall comes as investing in the cannabis industry has garnered mainstream attention, with a number of US states exploring medical and/or recreational marijuana legalization.

Recreational marijuana is now legal in 10 US states, while medical marijuana is legal in 33. Canada, where Tilray is headquartered, last fall legalized marijuana for all adults.

Tilray said the total kilogram equivalents sold during the first quarter grew more than twofold compared to the same time last year, to 3,012 kilograms from 1,299 kilograms. At the same time, the average net selling price per gram fell to $5.60 from $5.94.

"As we expand our operations around the world, we remain focused on making disciplined investments to maximize the multiple paths to value creation we are aggressively pursuing for our visionary investors," Brendan Kennedy, the president and CEO of Tilray, said in the release.

Mainstream big-money investors have gotten in on the action. Earlier this year, Jefferies became the second Wall Street investment firm to publish sell-side research on the industry, following Cowen's pioneering analyst Vivian Azer.

More broadly, Tilray's financial picture may start brightening over the next few quarters, according to analysts, who expect Tilray's losses to narrow slightly over the next three quarters on growing revenue, according to Bloomberg's consensus.

They forecast adjusted losses of $0.24 a share, $0.20 a share, and $0.17 a share in the second, third and fourth quarters, respectively. They also expect revenue to jump to $73 million in the fourth quarter.

Wall Street is broadly neutral on the company. Of the analysts polled by Bloomberg, six recommend "hold," three suggest "buy," and three say "sell."

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