After leading Canadian Licensed Producers (LPs) announced quarterly financial results that came in lower than what many broker-dealers expected, several firms have issued new ratings and/or price targets on several LPs.

Several of the price target decreases are substantial and we find the changes to be worth highlighting. We attribute the change in sentiment to companies reporting that it has lowered its cash burn by closing production facilities and by reducing employee headcount. 

Many of the Canadian cannabis companies are focused on expanding into the US cannabis market in 2021. The one remaining obstacle is that if they grow cannabis or own retail stores in Canada, they are prohibited from entering the US market until cannabis is legal at the federal level.

Without federal legalization and safe banking in the US market, however, navigating through the hurdles of the cannabis space is limited and can add many extra costs to a company’s capital structure.

As the recreational marijuana industry expands and matures, branding will be a vital strategy for companies vying for market share. Companies that build identities that resonate with consumers while fulfilling their needs will continue to grow – even once the industry’s rapid expansion eventually slows. Building brands that connect to buyers takes time. But that work is already paying off for some companies in California, Colorado and Washington state.

Top Cannabis Stocks In 2021

In 2021 marijuana stocks and the cannabis market have continued to show investors the growth potential in the sector. With most leading cannabis companies reporting significant revenue growth in 2020 and guidance for 2021 showing higher revenue the industry is expanding rapidly. In general, top cannabis stocks have shown some upward momentum so far in May. Next week many leading cannabis companies will report first-quarter 2021 earnings, and this could be a catalyst for the cannabis sector.

Ultimately, you want to make a “black market competitive weed” where the price maybe is elevated due to regulatory costs, but still very accessible to blue-collar consumers.

There is a reason why roughly 80-90% of the weed purchased in Canada is still from the black market — price.

When cannabis was illegal, it was one of the cheapest drugs available on the planet. In fact, in “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” they poke fun at how “not dangerous” it really is.

Of course, when it was illegal it didn’t have the sophisticated processes of cultivation like we have today in the legal market. It also didn’t have all of the strict regulation which elevates the cost to consumer.

Cannabis compliance for licensees is finally emerging from the shadows into the forefront as regulators move from the application phase to the operational phase.

In performing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and reviewing online compliance audit reports and letters to licensees, there are a number of specific issues regulators are required to review, but the majority of warning letters and flagged inspection reports show only a handful of cited issues for the vast majority.

Last week, marked another milestone of the legal cannabis industry after Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ) completed the acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals plc., a leader in the science, development and commercialization of cannabinoid-based prescription medicines.

Although the acquisition did receive as much attention as the merger between Aphria and Tilray, Inc. (TLRY.TO) (TLRY), we believe the transaction represents an inflection point for the biotech side of the cannabis industry. 

Will Marijuana Stocks Continue To Rise This Month?

Tracking cannabis from the farm to the dispensary is important to the safety of the entire marketplace. How to do it, however, has left many supply chain experts dazed and confused. But Applied DNA Sciences, a company that creates molecular tagging technology for supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting, and anti-theft technology, has an answer—at least a portion of it.

Leamington’s biggest private employer loses its name on Wednesday but will remain the controlling power behind a blockbuster merger of two Canadian pot giants in what becomes the world’s largest cannabis company.

Tilray Inc. shareholders on Friday followed suit with those of Aphria Inc. weeks earlier and voted to approve the merger which includes adopting Tilray as the shared name for the business combination. Tilray, headquartered in Nanaimo, B.C., will continue to be listed on the American Nasdaq exchange but will also commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 5.