OrganiGram Holdings Inc (OGI)

[john1311]

Pot stocks boom as investors eye vast expansion

Next month’s legalisation of cannabis for recreational use in Canada helps to spur growth

https://www.ft.com/content/40d63b4c-b76a-11e8-b3ef-799c8613f4a1


As the prospect of a legal marijuana industry across North America looms, retail and professional investors are proving to be enthusiastic buyers as they anticipate explosive growth for the sector. The excitement around so-called pot stocks has been generated by next month’s legalisation of cannabis for recreational use in Canada, as well as by a swath of M&A among cannabis producers and investments by major drinks companies in the growers. The promise of a vastly expanded market and an aura of legitimacy has drawn cash from big investors across the globe. Analysts at BDS Analytics estimate global spending on the drug could hit $32bn by 2022, a sharp rise from the current $9.5bn. “All the big beverage and tobacco firms are talking about this,” said Nikolaas Faes, equity analyst at Bryan, Garnier & Co. “They’re all trying to figure out how this is going to hurt their industry.” Canadian medical marijuana producer Canopy Growth Corp, which trades on the Toronto stock exchange under the ticker WEED, is the largest of the handful of companies to have benefited from the investor excitement. Constellation Brands, which makes Corona and Modelo beers, raised its stake in Canopy to 38 per cent with a $4bn investment last month, the largest investment made in the growing industry to date. Mr Faes said the growth of the marijuana industry could present an opportunity for the big beverage and tobacco companies too. “What do beer and tobacco and cannabis do? They intoxicate you, they’re a social lubricant — they’re in the same business.”