The cannabis bear has been roaring for a year now. But 2020 has sparked a sense of renewed hope for the patch, and we wanted to take a look at a few possible ideas for taking advantage, and pass our judgement on each in turn: Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY), Marquie Group Inc (OTCMKTS:TMGI), Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE:ACB), Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:CURLF).
Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) engages in the research, cultivation, processing, and distribution of medical cannabis. That said, it has been trashed by the market since topping its squeeze in September 2018 near $300. The reason for all the pain is that the company is running out of money because of how expensive it is to service its debt.
That’s a deadly conundrum for a company in a commodity market – which is the best way to think about cannabis and cannabis-related markets.
The company offers its products in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa. Tilray, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Nanaimo, Canada.
According to the company’s IPO announcement, “Tilray, Inc., a vertically-integrated and federally-licensed cannabis cultivator, processor and distributor, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 9,000,000 shares of Class 2 common stock. 6,524,000 shares of Class 2 common stock will be offered in the United States and certain other countries except Canada at a price to the public of US$17.00 per share for a total offering size of US$110,908,000 and 2,476,000 shares of Class 2 common stock, which we refer to as Subordinate Voting Shares, will be offered in Canada and certain other countries except the United States at a price to the public of CAD$22.451 per share for a total offering size of CAD$55,586,200. Based on current exchange rate1, the total combined offering size is approximately US$153,000,000.00.”
One of its key subsidiaries is High Park, which was launched to produce and distribute world-class cannabis brands and products for the Canadian market. Based in Toronto and led by a team with deep experience in cannabis and global consumer brands, High Park has secured the exclusive rights to produce and distribute a broad-based portfolio of cannabis brands and products in Canada, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
In addition, High Park has developed new brands and products for the Canadian market. Upon the coming into force of federal legalization of cannabis for adult-use and corresponding provincial legislation, High Park anticipates fulfilling adult-use supply agreements and purchase orders in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Yukon on October 17, 2018.
Even in light of this news, TLRY hasn’t really done much of anything over the past week, with shares logging no net movement over that period. Over the past month, shares of the stock have suffered from clear selling pressure, dropping by roughly -8%.
Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) pulled in sales of $51.1M in its last reported quarterly financials, representing top line growth of 408.6%. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($122.4M against $130.2M, respectively). But the debt-servicing costs are the problem here, as is the company’s lack of competitive traction. Pass.
Marquie Group Inc (OTCMKTS:TMGI) is a clear emerging leadership play in the CBD space, so it deserves acknowledgement here in this group.
The company just put out word that it is setting to launch its own branded line of premium CBD tinctures, which could be huge given that the company boasts undeniable expertise in attacking the market for women aged 35-49 – which also happens to be the biggest demographic component of the CBD products marketplace.
While the stock hasn’t yet started to gain traction with traders, the company boasts top talent in the health and beauty space coming together with the concept of the huge growth anticipated in CBD. Much of that promise springs from its leader, Jacquie Carter Angell, who has established an internationally recognized personal brand as a beauty expert, appearing in television, radio, magazine, newspaper and media events around the world.
According to the company, during that time, she has partnered with celebrities, Olympic athletes, doctors, nutritionists and Nobel Prize laureates in brand-building and marketing health and beauty products to women in more than 90 countries. “The CBD market has grown exponentially, evolving from the virtually unknown, to a marketplace where consumer perception and expectations are on the rise. A lesser-known fact is that the largest consumer for CBD products is women between 35-49 years of age,” commented Jacquie Carter Angell, President of The Marquie Group. “We have predicated the majority of the packaging, branding, marketing, and digital identity around this fact in a manner that positions Whim with far less direct niche-level competition than other CBD product brands.”
Marquie Group Inc (OTCMKTS:TMGI) bills itself as company led by former Director of Worldwide Training and Education for Herbalife Nutrition, Jacquie Carter Angell. It is a direct-to-consumer health and beauty products platform with a pipeline of innovative solutions to pervasive wellness concerns: anxiety, anti-aging, low energy, sleeplessness, and stress that use advanced formulations of plant-based, amino-acids and CBD alternatives to chemical ingredients.
All products will feature unique formulations of top-quality ingredients meant to impart skin health that comes from improved amino-acid balance and CBD nutrition.
The Marquie Group owns and operates two businesses: Music of Your Life, Inc, the nation’s longest-running, nationally syndicated music radio network broadcast nationwide and internationally to a worldwide audience on the Internet, and Global Nutrition Experience, Inc. (GNX), an intellectual property licensing and development corporation.
Products planned for a 2020 launch include facial skin care serums, a powerful amino acid infused collagen drink and custom blended CBD tinctures each with their own potent puree of nature’s finest fruits, flowers and herbs. Each one is uniquely developed to provide optimal sleep and relaxation, mental focus and clarity or beauty and antioxidant benefits via an array of plant- based ingredients formulated to enhance one’s Inner Health and Outer Beauty.
Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE:ACB) has shown us a line of evidence in its strategic moves over the past 24 months to clearly signal that it wants to be a major player in the CBD boom.
For example, in 2017, the company invested in Hempco, a Vancouver-based maker of hemp-based foods, hemp fiber, and hemp nutraceuticals. Hempco also supplied Aurora with raw hemp for extracting CBD. ACB bought the rest of Hempco three months later.
The company next acquired Agropro, Europe’s largest producer, processor, and supplier of certified organic hemp and hemp products. At the same time, Aurora acquired Agropro’s sister company Borela, which processes and distributes organic hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein, hemp flour, and hemp seed oil.
Just after that, in late 2018, Aurora acquired ICC Labs, which claims leadership in the South American hemp CBD market, with a large-scale extraction facility that can process 150,000 kg of CBD feed annually.
That’s three big M&A moves in the past 30 months with one clear goal: to capture major market share in the CBD space. And it spans three different continent. This is a company on a mission and investors who believe in the larger growth thesis should take note now.
Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE:ACB) managed to rope in revenues totaling $98.9M in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of 416.7%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($362M against $436.4M, respectively).
Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:CURLF) is another primarily cannabis name to make clear moves toward the CBD space. This is likely to be linked with its existing distribution footprint, which keeps expanding by the month.
As a case in point, the company recently announced the opening of its 28th Florida dispensary at 1435 South Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. Curaleaf has the largest cannabis dispensary footprint in the US with 51 dispensaries across the country, and continues to execute on its strategy of rapid expansion in Florida.
“We are proud to deliver upon our commitment to expand our Florida footprint, providing patients with access to Curaleaf’s premium medical cannabis products and educational resources, and serving the Sarasota community 7 days a week,” said Pablo Arizmendi-Kalb, President of Curaleaf Florida.
Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:CURLF) promulgates itself as a company that operates as an integrated medical and wellness cannabis operator in the United States.
The Company is the parent of Curaleaf, Inc., a leading vertically integrated cannabis operator in the United States. Headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Curaleaf, Inc. has a presence in 12 states.
Curaleaf, Inc. operates 30 dispensaries, 12 cultivation sites and 9 processing sites with a focus on highly populated, limited license states, including Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. Curaleaf, Inc. leverages its extensive research and development capabilities to distribute cannabis products in multiple formats with the highest standard for safety, effectiveness, consistent quality and customer care. Curaleaf is committed to being the industry’s leading resource in education and advancement through research and advocacy.
Curaleaf Inc.’s Florida operations were the first in the cannabis industry to receive the Safe Quality Food certification under the Global Food Safety Initiative, setting a new standard of excellence.
Shares of the stock have powered higher over the past month, rallying roughly 23% in that time on strong overall action.
Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:CURLF) managed to rope in revenues totaling $81.6M in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of 192.3%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels far exceeding current liabilities ($120.8M against $98.5M).
