ACB was resilient against under-performing financial results
Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks and look ahead to how the cannabis industry continues to shape up in 2021.
Investor interest in the cannabis industry is growing at an explosive rate, and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier, especially in the United States. More than 40 U.S. states legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana by the end of 2020. Now, companies are starting to see the opportunity in cannabis cultivation, marketing, distribution, and technology.
Here is a quick roundup of major (and action-worthy!) cannabis stock news from this week:
1. CC Pharma GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY), signed an exclusive marketing agreement in Germany with AMP Alternative Medical Products Inc on Monday, September 27. This agreement will apply to the marketing of all products under Tilray's Aphria brand imported to or cultivated in Germany. As part of this announcement, TLRY also announced an educational initiative being kicked off to provide continuing education to many different healthcare professionals.
According to AMP President, Dr. Stefan Feuerstein, "Tilray entrusted AMP as its sole marketing partner for the Aphria medical cannabis brand due to our commitment to training to develop a knowledgable sales team covering major cities but also the small towns and rural regions ensuring that all German patients have access to this medicine as it becomes more commonly prescribed by doctors."
2. The shares of Aurora Cannabis Inc (NASDAQ:ACB) jumped 3.4% following the cannabis company's worse-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. Coronavirus-related restrictions weighed down consumer demand, leading Canadian provinces to cut orders. However, ACB has benefited from aggressive cost-cutting measures, as well as overall demand for cannabis-related products.
Aurora Cannabis stock attracted mixed analyst attention following the release of fiscal Q4 financial results. MKM Partners upgraded ACB to "neutral," and raised its price objective to $7 CAD from $6 CAD. Canaccord Genuity cut its price target to $6.50 CAD from $7 CAD. Analysts were previously bearish on ACB ahead of earnings, with seven "hold" ratings and seven "strong sell" ratings.
3. Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR) officially closed a sales leaseback transaction with cannabis brand Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. in New York on Sept. 28. The transaction included 92.3 acres of land for $1.2 million with plans for Goodness Growth to build a new 324,000 square foot cannabis
4. On Sept. 28, Village Farms International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VFF) finalized the acquisition of an 80% stake in Leli Holland B.V. Leli recently received a license to legally cultivate and distribute marijuana to "coffee shops" in the Netherlands as part of Netherlands' experience to investigate closed cannabis supply chains.
According to CEO of Village Farms Michael DeGiglio, "We view the Dutch Supply Chain Experiment as a critical step toward the broad legalization of recreational cannabis in Europe, and our majority ownership of Leli as both an opportunity to participate in the first recreational market in Europe and a springboard to becoming a major participant in a broader recreational market in Europe."
In addition to this notable acquisition, VFF also announced the completion of its first export shipment of medical marijuana to Australia on Wednesday.
5. The second annual Black CannaConference & Expo, aka Black CannaCon 2021, named Weedmaps as the Advocate Sponsor for the event. According to Kristi Price, "We're thrilled to partner with Weedmaps, a leading technology and software infrastructure provider to the cannabis industry, to ensure a best-in-class experience for attendees."
Weedmaps is a leading online marketplace for cannabis users and businesses which is operated by WM Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAPS) and this year's Black CannaCon is slated to take place in New Orleans on November 18 - 20, 2021.
5. Following disappointing financial results released earlier in the week, Canada-based Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) rolled out the first-available medical marijuana oil in Uruguay, Bidiol. Bidiol is a CBD oil available throughout Uruguay's medical cannabis market. Along with this new product launch, ACB modified its original approach to the Uruguay cannabis market to focus exclusively on medical marijuana.
6. On Sept. 30, High Tide Inc. (NASDAQ:HITI) opened it's landmark landmark 100th and 101st retail cannabis locations in Canada. According to Raj Grover, High Tide President and CEO, "Our objective is to solidify our leadership position with respect to Canadian market share, which will set us up for long-term success by enhancing same-store sales and allowing for the cross-selling of our in-house brands and products across all of our platforms."