Cannabis Weekly Round-Up: Drake Joins Cannabis Party

During the past trading week (October 28 to November 1), celebrity singer Drake unveiled his business alliance with Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC,TSX:WEED).

Also during the week, a new report officially called the bottom for the marijuana stock universe, while the Investing News Network (INN) offered a closer look at a recent investor event centered around Europe.

Here’s a closer look at some of the biggest cannabis news over the last week.

Drake forms cannabis company with Canopy Growth

The Canadian rapper confirmed the creation of his own cannabis business, called More Life Growth Company, by way of a joint venture with Canopy Growth. Drake will own a 60 percent share of the firm, which will begin working on the production of a new cannabis line for the Canadian recreational market.

“Drake’s perspective as a culture leader and entrepreneur combined with Canopy Growth’s breadth of cannabis knowledge will allow our new company to bring an unmatched cannabis experience to global markets,” Canopy Growth CEO Mark Zekulin said in a statement.

The company will be located in Drake’s hometown city of Toronto, Ontario, and will also sell accessories for cannabis consumption in Canada and internationally.

“The idea of being able to build something special in an industry that is ever growing has been inspiring,” Drake said.

Research firm says green days are ahead for cannabis stocks

On Monday (November 4), Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Pablo Zuanic issued a note to launch his coverage of the Canadian marijuana stock universe. The analyst expressed a sense of optimism about the space at large and declared that the bottom has been reached for these stocks.

“We call the bottom on Canadian cannabis stocks. Positive catalysts far outweigh negative ones in the year ahead,” the analyst wrote.

Zuanic said in the note that he will cover Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB,TSX:ACB), Aphria (NYSE:APHA,TSX:APHA), HEXO (NYSE:HEXO,TSX:HEXO), Organigram Holdings (NASDAQ:OGI,TSX:OGI), Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) and Canopy Growth.

“The stocks that will outperform will show evidence of a strengthening Canadian franchise (market share, pricing, and margins) and outsized growth versus peers in terms of exports,” Zuanic wrote, according to a report from Yahoo Finance.

Cannabis Europa offers firsthand voices on European medical market

Last week in Toronto, investors heard about the state of affairs for the marijuana market in Europe thanks to the Cannabis Europa’s Transatlantic Forum. During this event, various industry players highlighted the current challenges for emerging companies and discussed the role Canadian firms are playing to help develop the market.

“If you’re a North American company and looking at European assets, it’s really a question of what are you going to do with that asset and being realistic about the market,” said Steph Sherer, president of the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute.

“Europe is exciting, it’s big,” she added. “But you can’t just take what happened in Canada and the United States and just add the population of Europe and say, ‘This is what’s going to happen here.’”

Be sure to check out INN’s entire recap of the event for more insights from the experts at the Transatlantic Forum.

Market updates

Canopy Growth has been forced to reduce its numbers for its presence in the Latin America market, according to a report from Marijuana Business Daily. The Canadian cannabis giant has laid off 14 people from its staff in these operations.

“We suspect that more costly capital and investor focus on profitability will force Canopy Growth, and other cannabis companies, to re-examine their wish list of projects and make tough decisions which to pursue and which to forgo,” equity analyst Craig Behnke said in the report.

Bruce Linton, co-founder and ex-CEO of Canopy Growth, has joined multi-state operator Vireo Health International (CSE:VREO,OTCQX:VREOF) as its new executive chairman.

“We are confident Vireo can become a top US producer and distributor of high-margin, proprietary products within the next several years and create unprecedented long-term shareholder value,” Linton said in a statement.

ManifestSeven reminded investors this past week that it is nearing a public listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The California-based cannabis company confirmed it held off on listing due to market conditions during the summer.

“Upon surveying and analyzing the most distressed publicly-traded cannabis companies today, it is evident that almost all the recent fallout in the marketplace has resulted from self-inflicted and avoidable problems that are not applicable in the case of (ManifestSeven),” ManifestSeven Director and CEO Sturges Karban said in a letter to shareholders.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Cannabis for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.