Cannabis Corner: Keep an eye on these industry stocks

Article Excerpt

Canada legalized cannabis over five years ago. While demand has been steady, stiff competition has cut selling prices significantly. Meanwhile, advertising restrictions and plain packaging rules make it hard to build brands that win customer loyalty. Still, we think some companies have a distinct edge—including their prospects for added sales in the U.S. as President Joe Biden stirs talk that the federal government could eventually decriminalize cannabis use. Those are the quality stocks we focus on in “Cannabis Corner.” ORGANIGRAM HOLDINGS $1.69 (Toronto symbol OGI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (organigram.ca; Shares outstanding: 81.2 million; Market cap: $135.5 million; TSI Cannabis Quality Rating [CQR]: ) grows and sells medical and recreational cannabis. In March 2021, Organigram received an initial $221 million strategic investment from British American Tobacco plc. That gave BAT a 19.9% interest in Organigram. Now, the company has announced a new $124.6 million follow-on strategic equity investment from BAT. The new investment will increase BAT’s overall equity interest to 45%. Meantime, it also gives Organigram a nice…