Key Takeaways:
- Akerna Corp. Acquires 365 Cannabis For $17M, Seeks To Create Most Comprehensive ERP System In Cannabis Industry.
- HEXO Corp. Achieves Carbon Neutrality.
- Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. Announces its Financial and Operational Results for the Fiscal Second Quarter Ended July 31, 2021. This was followed by Reports of Completed Acquisitions of PotGuide and Wikileaf’s Digital Assets.
- Cantor Fitzgerald Maintains Overweight Ratings on Tilray, Inc. with a Price Target of $18-$19.
- Creso Pharma Limited Expands European Market Presence Following the Launch of a new e-commerce Channel.
- Former GOP Congressman Who Supported Marijuana Reform Enters The Cannabis Industry as Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. Appoints him to the Board of Directors.
- Awakn Life Sciences to Acquire Leading Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Clinic in Norway.
- Missouri Spends Millions In Medical Marijuana Tax Revenue To Support Veterans Programs.
- Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. & Forian Inc. amongst Top Gainers in the Cannabis Sector This Week.
Top Cannabis Gainer for This Week
#1: Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. (TSE: NEPT)
Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. (NEPT) (NEPT.TO) operates as an integrated health and wellness company. The Company offers product development and supply chain solutions to business customers in various health and wellness verticals, such as legal cannabis and hemp.
This week Neptune Wellness was among the top gainers in the Cannabis Sector. On Friday, September 17, shares of NEPT closed up 16.07% at $0.65, with an estimated market cap of 108.7M. Though $0.65 is a bit lower than the minimum requirements of $1 for Companies listed in NASDAQ, NEPT does stand a chance of hitting the $1 price soon.
#2: Forian Inc. (NASDAQ: FORA)
Forian Inc. (FORA) provides a suite of software solutions, data management capabilities, and proprietary data and predictive analytics to optimize and measure operational, clinical, and financial performance for customers within the healthcare and cannabis industries, as well as cannabis dispensaries, cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors. The Company is headquartered in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
Forian Inc. was another top gainer in the Cannabis Sector this week. On Friday, shares of FORA closed up 10.79% at $11.50, and an estimated market cap of 374.4M. On Saturday, news emerged that, The Director of Forian, Martin Wygod, just bought a few more shares. It was reported that he paid US$9.96 per share to buy US$118k worth of the Stock. This means that investors should take an interest in Forian Inc. because insider buying is a positive sign, and it does suggest that insiders consider the Stock to be undervalued.
Top Cannabis Stocks to Keep a Close Eye On
#1: Akerna Corp. (NASDAQ: KERN)
Akerna Corp. (KERN) provides enterprise software solutions that enable regulatory compliance and inventory management in the United States and Canada. The Company offers MJ Platform, an enterprise resource planning compliance system to the cannabis industry, including state-legal marijuana, hemp, and CBD industry.
On September 13, Akerna announced that they had signed an agreement to acquire 365 Cannabis, a cannabis business management software system built on Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Business Central, in a $17 million deal.
As a result of the acquisition, 365 Cannabis clients will gain access to Akerna’s Compliance Gateway, feature-rich reporting, MJ Retail POS, and the recently launched Akerna Connect. Akerna has partnered with SAP, Sage Intacct, and other leading providers for integrated financials and tax planning, offering cannabis operators a solution for each stage of their development – from startup to multistate operator (MSO) – while maintaining regulatory compliance through Akerna’s Compliance Gateway. Cannabis 365 clients include Pharmacann, Nectar, Revolution, Sundial (NASDAQ: SNDL), Kiaro (TSXV: KO), and many others.
#2: HEXO Corp. (TSE: HEXO)
HEXO Corp. (HEXO) (HEXO.TO) is an award-winning licensed producer of innovative products for the global cannabis market. The Company produces, markets, and sells cannabis through its subsidiaries in Canada.
On September 16, HEXO Corp announced that the Company had achieved carbon neutrality, offsetting 100% of its 2020 operational carbon emissions in addition to the personal emissions of its 1,200 employees.
HEXO partnered with Offsetters, a Vancouver-based organization that supports renewable energy and forest carbon projects worldwide, to offset its carbon footprint. To achieve carbon neutrality, HEXO offset a total of 25,965 tonnes of carbon – 19,610 tonnes of operational carbon emissions and 6,355 tonnes of their employee’s personal carbon emissions – the equivalent of 3.55 million plastic bottles. In addition to carbon emissions, HEXO is working alongside their primary packaging supplier Dymapak to counteract the use of plastic in its packaging, in conjunction with Plastic Bank.
#3: Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSE: FAF)
Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (FFLWF) (FAF.TO) operates as an independent retailer that offers cannabis products and accessories through its retail locations located in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Yukon.
On Tuesday, September 14, Fire & Flower Holdings Corp announced its financial and operational results for the fiscal second quarter ended July 31, 2021. The Financial announcements reported 51% revenue growth in Q2 to be CAD$43 million with a fifth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) CAD$3.1 million.
A day after the financial announcement, Fire & Flower announced the closings of its previously announced acquisitions of all issued and outstanding shares of PGED Corp (PotGuide), which is one of the world’s largest cannabis websites and content platforms. The Company also announced that they had completed acquiring the digital assets of Wikileaf Technologies (Wikileaf), an online platform for cannabis enthusiasts and consumers.
#4: Creso Pharma Limited (ASX: CPH)
Creso Pharma Limited (COPHF) (CPH.XA) develops, registers, and commercializes pharmaceutical-grade cannabis and hemp-based nutraceutical products and treatments for human and animal health in Europe, Middle East America, and the Asia Pacific.
On Monday, September 13, Creso Pharma announced that they had secured two new purchase orders with a combined value of AUD 337,577. Creso Pharma said that the move would broaden its European market presence.
The purchase orders have come from Swiss-based health products distributor MHG GmbH for CPH’s cannaQIX hemp seed oil lozenges and cannaQIX 50 lozenges. Established in 2016, MHG is focused on the import and export of health and wellbeing products. MHG has extensive expertise in pharmaceutical product distribution and an established market presence with more than 3,500 international points of sale.
#5: Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY)
Tilray, Inc. (TLRY) (TLRY.TO) appeared in our last week’s article, and as outlined in the article TLRY had a healthy week. On Friday, shares of TLRY closed up 1.33% at $12.17, with an estimated market cap of 5.5B.
Wall Street’s consensus on TLRY suggests that shares of the cannabis company have sizable upside potential. This week Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Pablo Zuanic maintained overweight Buy Ratings on Tilray and updated the price target on TLRY to $18.00; currently, TLRY is trading at $12.17, and if the price were to rise to $18, that would be a 50% gain.
#6: Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (OTCMKTS: AWKNF)
Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (AWKNF) (AWKN.NE) was also featured in the last article. Awakn is featuring again this week because they announced that they had signed a binding share exchange agreement to acquire a 100% interest in Axonklinikken AS (Axon), a leading ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic in Norway.
As part of the transaction, Axon will be renamed ‘Awakn Oslo AS.’ Axon’s majority shareholder Dr. Lowan Stewart will be appointed as Regional Director for the Nordics and Managing Director. Dr. Stewart was previously the founder and medical director of the Santa Fe Ketamine Clinic, the first ketamine treatment center in New Mexico. He has lectured internationally on ketamine for depression and is a member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians.
The acquisition is part of Awakn’s clinic rollout program. Awakn will now parallel path its regional expansion plans in the Nordics (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland) and the U.K. & Ireland, territories with a combined 100m population and US$5trn GDP. Awakn Oslo AS will serve as a regional hub from which Awakn plans to expand across the Nordics and is in addition to the Bristol and London clinics the Company plans to have operational this fiscal year, all of which Awakn expects to begin generating revenue in the near-term.
Essential News and Reporting that Developed Throughout the Week in the Cannabis Sector
Missouri officials on Thursday announced that they had transferred millions of dollars in medical marijuana tax revenue to support programs for military veterans.
This is the second round of cannabis funding for the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC), raising the total amount to $6,843,310. Overall, the state has seen more than $113 million in medical marijuana sales since dispensaries opened in October 2020, enabling regulators to gain a lot of money in tax revenues that are now being used to help military veterans programs.
In other news; On Friday, Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (RWBYF) (RWB.CN) appointed Ryan Costello to the Board of Directors. Mr. Costello is a former U.S. Republican Congressman (2015-2019, PA), and now he is a public policy consultant. As a Congressman, Mr. Costello had a consistent legislative record of cosponsoring and voting for marijuana reform measures.
In the announcement, Brad Rogers, Chairman & CEO of RWB, commented, “Mr. Costello will be a very welcome addition to the RWB Board as he brings a wealth of experience with solid acumen and a complementary skill set. He will also deepen the Company’s US-based representation, which is key, as federal policy on cannabis shifts through many of the bills scheduled to reach the House of Representatives and Senate over the near future.”
Mr. Costello remarked, “I’m looking forward to utilizing my 15+ years of service in government, the legal profession, and my familiarity with cannabis policy to be a strategic resource for RWB as it positions itself as a true market-leading house of brands in the permitted U.S. marketplace.”
