First U.S. Canada Cannabis Tie-up in the Works
Bottom Line: Canopy is in talks to acquire an option from Acreage holdings to buy the company should cannabis become federally legal in the U.S. The deal is still on shaky ground with passage of the STATES act required for the option to come into effect according to the Acreage CEO. Don’t be surprised if Aurora, Tilray or Cronos create the same option to buy another U.S. MSO over the next few months.
Cannabis Sales Number Released for February
Bottom Line: The legal market is not growing according to February government data. Legal sales peaked in the first month of legalization and are now running at only 93,000 kg a year, representing 10% market share of cannabis consumption in Canada.
Health Canada
Canopy CEO Makes a Big Promise
Bottom Line: Canopy is setting some lofty goals for 2020. The company is on a $400mm revenue run rate but thinks they will hit $1 billion between April 2019 and April 2020. Still no profit until after April 2020. Canadian legal sales are only running at $650 million a year which makes us doubtful the company can meet this guidance. 
Interesting Expose on the Founders of MedMen
Bottom Line: An inside look inside the C-suite, how management thinks about the cannabis business and what they want to achieve. The article also covers some of the potential risks facing investors. This weekend’s announcement of multiple people resigning from MedMen demonstrates that even a great business can be a terrible stock if you don’t pick the right management team.
The CBD Race is Ramping up Fast in the U.S.
Bottom Line: Wholesale CBD prices are likely falling already, but there is a reason everyone is racing to start a CBD business. No big brands exist in the market place making it a wide open playing field to capture consumer’s wallets.
Agropro.lt
B.C. Could Introduce Cannabis Odour Regulations
Bottom Line: This is not good news for B.C. producers. Stricter odour regulations would force producers to spend money on expensive filtration systems and could deter cannabis investment in the province. It will be interesting to see if the potential lost tax revenue will be enough of a political deterrent to keep this regulation from passing.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
23 Industries Being Disrupted by Cannabis
Bottom Line: A helpful research report from CB Insights looking at all the ways Cannabis is disrupting established industries.
Source: CB Insights
New York and New Jersey Legalization Looking Unlikely in 2019
Bottom Line: With both bills failing at the last minute early this year, it looks unlikely that lawmakers will muster the support to introduce and pass new bills during the 2019 legislative sessions.
Weekly Marijuana Stock Performance
An important shift is underway in marijuana stock performance. Investors are moving money out of Canadian stocks and into CSE traded U.S. operators. Performance for the Canadian LPs is now worse than U.S operators. MSOs are up 51% while the 4 largest Canadian growers are up 49% year to date and we expect this trend to continue
U.S. operators outperformed the Canadian large caps down 1.6% compared to a 6.6% decrease for the large Canadian growers. The overall marijuana index was down 3.8% this week, underperforming the S&P and the TSX by almost 4-5%. Investors should continue rotating into U.S. MSO to take advantage of faster revenue growth, more positive news flow and regulatory catalysts.
Market Outlook
Source: New Cannabis Ventures
Stocks were up big in the first quarter after a terrible end to 2018. A short term selloff seems to be ongoing making us cautious on the industry over the next few months. Investors should use this time as an opportunity to buy into their favorite name at a discount.
Distribution bottlenecks, slow legal demand growth and a government monopoly do not bode well for licensed producers’ ability to meet or exceed lofty earnings and revenue estimates over the next 9 months. Revenue growth could disappoint expectations starting this quarter.
Longer term, with the Canadian market legalized, we expect retail and wholesale price compression from a legal oversupply by the second half of 2019. Falling cannabis prices will pressure producer stocks later in 2019. After a shakeout, the remaining stocks will be better positioned as long-term buying opportunities.
United States
MedMed Announces Senior Management Shakeup
Cannabis Users Weigh Less Than Average, Study Claims
Green Growth Brands Launching Camp Active Lifestyle Cannabis Brand
Acreage Closes Acquisition of Cannabis Packing Company
Georgia Poised to Expand Medicinal Cannabis Laws
Cannabis Sales Set for Huge Spike on 4/20, According to Nielsen
Canada
Canopy Growth Confirms Bid to Acquire Acreage After U.S. Legalization
Canopy Growth Acquires Spanish Licensed Cannabis Producer Cafina
Aphria 3Q 2019 Earnings Review – Headlines Create Opportunity
Green Thumb Subsidiary Launching CBD Beauty Products
Organigram 2Q 2019 Earnings Review – Selling Cannabis Customers Want
International
Germany Can Finally Begin Cultivating Marijuana
Another Former Israeli Prime Minister Joins Cannabis Industry
Police Commissioner Urges Britain to Legalize Cannabis
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