Shares of a number of cannabis plays have been suffering over the past few weeks, with Aurora Cannabis Inc (OTCMKTS:ACBFF) perhaps chief among them. Given the growth rate on display here, and the company’s powerful strides to consolidate market share and diversify revenue streams through strategic action over the past 5 months, this pullback may end up representing a valuable opportunity by the time we head into the fall and Canadian recreational legalization.

To further that narrative, the company just announced that it has received a Letter of Intent from Malta Enterprise, approving its application for the establishment of a seed-to-pharma cannabis operation subject to certain conditions. According to the release, “The project includes the construction of a hybrid cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution facility, with operations to be carried out by a new subsidiary, Aurora Malta, to be formed with Aurora’s local Maltese partner Cherubino Ltd., the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in the country with an operating history of over 100 years.” 

Aurora Cannabis Inc (OTCMKTS:ACBFF) is a licensed producer of medical marijuana pursuant to the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations and operates a 55,200 square foot expandable state-of-the-art production facility in Alberta, Canada.

ACBFF’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Australis Capital Inc., seeks to be an active participant in the U.S. Cannabis market. Aurora is trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the trading symbol “ACB”. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

According to company’s materials, “Aurora’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. The Company operates a 55,200 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, is currently constructing a second 800,000 square foot production facility, known as “Aurora Sky”, at the Edmonton International Airport, and has acquired, and is undertaking completion of a third a 40,000 square foot production facility in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on Montreal’s West Island. In addition, the Company holds approximately 9.6% of the issued shares (12.9% on a fully-diluted basis) in leading extraction technology company Radient Technologies Inc., based in Edmonton, and is in the process of completing an investment in Edmonton-based Hempco Food and Fiber for an ownership stake of up to 50.1%. Furthermore, Aurora is the cornerstone investor with a 19.9% stake in Cann Group Limited, the first Australian company licensed to conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis. Aurora also owns Pedanios, a leading wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union, based in Germany.”

As noted above, shares of the stock have been sliding of late, with part of the story likely being around diversification of the investment field with the TLRY IPO last week. But the company continues to be extremely aggressive on the strategic side, and we are now within shouting distance of recreational legalization in Canada, which will hugely impact the forward growth rate here.

The move to test the $5 support level today could be an interesting line in the sand.

“Aurora already was the first company to export medical cannabis to both Italy and Malta, and now are the first to receive approval for the production, processing, and distribution of cannabis in the country,” said Neil Belot, Chief Global Business Development Officer. “Having an EU GMP compliant facility in Malta will position us well to serve multiple international markets, including Southern Europe and beyond. We are delighted to have Cherubinoas as our local partner, whose professionalism, reputation and standing in Malta were instrumental in establishing a local presence. We look forward to creating a thriving Maltese business, generating significant employment opportunities, and serving medical patients with high-quality cannabis products.”

Now commanding a market cap of $2.98B, ACBFF has a significant war chest ($231M) of cash on the books, which compares with about $2.6M in total current liabilities. One should also note that debt has been growing over recent quarters. ACBFF is pulling in trailing 12-month revenues of $42M. In addition, the company is seeing major top-line growth, with y/y quarterly revenues growing at 211.1%. This may be a very interesting story and we will look forward to updating it again soon.