Topic: Cannabis Investing

Medical cannabis firm prepares for the recreational market—and growth of its core business

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Marijuana Producer

This Ontario-based company has a strong position in the medical cannabis market. That includes user education.

Ahead of legalization on October 17, the firm has signed a number of deals to move into recreational marijuana sales. It is also developing its own brand with a particular focus on more affluent cannabis consumers. While the company needs steady revenue growth to justify its current share price, the gap between its market cap and sales is not as wide as it is for many marijuana producers.


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EMBLEM CORP., $1.70, symbol EMC on the Toronto Venture Exchange (Shares outstanding: 120.5 million; Market cap: $205.9 million; TSI Cannabis Quality Rating (CQR):    ; www.emblemcorp.com) is a licensed producer and distributor of medical cannabis and cannabis derivatives in Canada. Its production and research facilities are located in Paris, Ontario.

The company’s principal business has been the sale of dried cannabis and cannabis oils to patients who have received medical authorization to acquire and use cannabis for personal use. However, Emblem has been expanding production capacity and establishing supply agreements as the company readies for Canada’s legalization of recreational cannabis on October 17, 2018.

Emblem also owns GrowWise Health, a cannabis education company. GrowWise operates in medical clinics where doctors prescribe cannabis. Patients are referred to GrowWise once a prescription has been issued. Nurses advise patients on safety and strain selection, and help them register and place orders with a licensed producer. On June 30, 2018, GrowWise operated out of 18 locations in Ontario and B.C.

In October 2017, Emblem entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Canntab Therapeutics to develop a range of cannabinoid extended-release tablets. Canntab is a Canadian cannabis oral-dosage-formulation company based in Markham, Ontario. It has patents pending on its sustained-release products.

More recently, in June 2018, Emblem launched Emblem Germany in a joint venture with Acnos Pharma GmbH. That pharmaceutical wholesaler is based in Aachen, Germany. The joint venture (Emblem 60%, Acnos 40%) aims to export Emblem-branded cannabis products from Canada into Germany. With a population of 82 million and federal health insurance coverage for medical cannabis, Germany has become one of the largest medical cannabis markets in the world.

In July 2018, Emblem announced a $3 million investment in Natura, a 662,000-square-foot greenhouse grower of medical cannabis in Leamington, Ontario. Natura will provide the company with 3,000 kilograms of cannabis a year. Shortly after this announcement, Emblem agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of Natura that it did not already own. However, on September 14, 2018, the two companies terminated that further investment deal.

Once the recreational cannabis market opens in Canada, distribution deals will be crucial in establishing and maintaining market share. Emblem has secured the following agreements:

In April 2018, the company signed a three-year supplier agreement with Fire & Flower. Fire & Flower is a cannabis-lifestyle brand and store concept that intends to open across Canada.

In July 2018, Emblem was selected as one of 13 suppliers (out of 31 applicants) to supply the province of Alberta for its recreational market.

In August 2018, the company announced a five-year exclusive supply agreement with GreenSpace to develop and commercialize cannabis-infused health and beauty products. GreenSpace, based in Toronto, markets and sells premium natural food products to consumers across North America. As part of the agreement, Emblem made an investment in GreenSpace valued at $2 million to fund the start-up of GreenSpace’s cannabis-based business. Emblem will earn a 4% royalty on all hemp-based product sales and a 7% royalty on all cannabis-based product sales.

On August 21, 2018, the company announced that it was selected as one of 26 licensed producers to supply Ontario for the recreational cannabis market.

On September 6, 2018, Emblem signed a five-year supply agreement with Compass Cannabis Clinic, a medical cannabis consultation company. Four days later, Emblem announced that it would invest $1 million in Compass. Compass currently has 40 confirmed leases for retail cannabis stores across Canada. It will operate them under the Starbuds brand name.

To take advantage of its existing strength in the medical market, Emblem is developing the “Symbl” brand to target the recreation market. The company aims to craft Symbl to meet the needs of both novice and seasoned consumers, with both dried flower and oil formats. As cannabis use becomes normalized in more affluent demographics, Emblem believes that market segment has the potential to provide steady growth at higher profit margins.

2017 was Emblem’s first year as a publicly traded company. That year, it lost $12.1 million on revenue of $2.7 million. The loss reflects its investment in personnel, production facilities and marketing.

For the three months ended June 30, 2018, overall revenue increased 178.8%, to $1.5 million from $538,000 a year earlier. The jump came from the start of cannabis oil sales in December 2017, plus higher patient education revenues. The company lost $4.8 million, or $0.04 a share in the quarter, compared to a loss of $3.0 million, or $0.03.

Emblem’s established position in the medical marijuana field is a plus. It now needs to successfully expand into the recreational cannabis market.

Shares of many marijuana stocks may move higher as momentum traders buy the widely followed stocks on the latest upswing. However, considering their current sales, many Canadian producers have very high “market caps” (the value of all shares outstanding). That means they need huge revenue growth to even justify their current stock prices. If revenues merely hold steady, or rise only slowly, those companies will find their stock prices vulnerable.

While Emblem faces the same risk, the gap between its market cap and its sales isn’t as big as it is for many of its competitors. That could also make the company a potential takeover candidate. While that alone is not reason enough to buy the stock, it adds to Emblem’s appeal.

Emblem Corp. has a 3-Leaf Cannabis Quality Rating (CQR). The stock is a speculative buy for aggressive investors who want exposure to the marijuana industry.

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