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Leading cannabis analysts share why they are optimistic about these two actions
Joe Biden was sworn in as 46th president, just two weeks after Democrats closed control of the Senate with victories in the two run-off elections to the Georgia Senate. These events give the Dems control of the Houses of Congress and the White House. While its margins in Congress are narrow – as narrow as possible in the Senate, where new Vice President Kamala Harris will have to cast tiebreakers in a 50-50 chamber – Democrats have the votes needed to advance their legislative agenda. And part of that agenda is federal cannabis legislation. Don’t expect this to happen immediately, as Congress and President Biden will have many other priorities to take care of first. But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a leading politician in the progressive wing of the Democrats, promised legalization at the state level in his State of the State speech – and, like California, New York tends to be a trend setter. In addition, Biden chose federal judge Merrick Garland as his choice to head the Department of Justice; Garland is generally seen as a centrist, but he has a federal bench judicial record of respecting state marijuana legalization regimes. “[With] room for stock valuations to continue rising, we remain optimistic about US cannabis and we believe that 2021 will be a crucial year for the industry … We believe investors will increasingly benefit from better visibility of specific growth rates of the company and operational metrics until 2021 … We also expect the continuation of state-led legalization initiatives, ”noted Jesse Pytlak of Cormark Securities. With that in mind, we used the TipRanks database to take a closer look at two cannabis stocks supported by leading cannabis analysts. These names received sufficient support from the analyst community to earn a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”. Aphria, Inc. (APHA) Headquartered in Leamington, Ontario, Aphria is one of Canada’s legal cannabis industry giants. The company has a market capitalization in excess of CA $ 4 billion and reported more than CA $ 160.5 million in its last fiscal quarter, a 33% gain over the previous year. That number was a company record. The company announced in December a merger and acquisition agreement with competitor Tilray, a move that will create the largest cannabis company in the world, with a market value of $ 5 billion. The agreement will result in all Aphria shareholders receiving 0.8381 shares of Tilray. The merged entity will operate under the stock exchange code TLRY when the change is complete. Meanwhile, investors can take comfort in the growth of Aphria’s shares. The stock has risen 124% in the past 52 weeks. A significant part of that gain came in the 5 weeks since the announcement of the Tilray deal; APHA’s shares appreciated 58% in that period. Aphria caught the attention of Cantor’s 5-star analyst, Pablo Zunaic, who believes the company’s prospects are “[all] about what APHA + TLRY can do in a rapidly deregulated cannabis world. ”Zunaic added:“ The leading Canadian company (16% stake in APHA rec and 4% in TLRY), with an international unit under development (exporting to Israel, Germany, Poland, Malta; production in Germany / Portugal; distribution of property in Germany), in addition to auxiliary assets that can be useful depending on the form of future deregulation, should deserve a prize … ”In line with these comments, the analyst classifies APHA as Excess (ie, Purchase), and its goal The $ 26 price tag implies a potential increase of 59% over current levels. (To see Zunaic’s history, click here) Zunaic is not the only analyst optimistic about Aphria. The company has 10 recent reviews and its division is 8 purchases versus 2 suspensions, making the consensus of analysts to see a strong purchase. However, the recent stock appreciation pushed the trading price above the average price target of CA $ 15.09; APHA shares now cost CA $ 16.32. (See APHA’s stock analysis at TipRanks) Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF) Trulieve is a $ 5.23 billion medical cannabis company, operating in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The company’s headquarters are located in Florida, the country’s third largest state in population, where it holds 51% of the medical cannabis market. The rapid growth of medical cannabis fueled tremendous growth in Trulieve’s stock price last year. Trulieve’s shares have gained an impressive 296% in the last 12 months. Medical cannabis is a lucrative and growing market, and Trulieve’s recipes reflect that. The company reported a steady increase in net revenue over the past two years, with the most recent quarterly report, 3Q20, showing $ 136.3 million, a company record and a 13% gain over the previous quarter. Matt McGinley, 5-star analyst at Needham, summarizes an optimistic case about Trulieve, noting: “Although our fundamental outlook for the industry and this company has not changed materially in 21, the prospects for federal reforms have improved, as have prospects for financing this. growth based on recent capital market activity. As such, we believe that the multiples will reclassify higher to more appropriately reflect the industry’s high growth rate. ”Unsurprisingly, the analyst classifies TCNNF as Outperform (that is, buy) and sets a price target of $ 60.50, suggesting that the stock will grow ~ 38% over the next 12 months. (To view McGinley’s track record, click here) Strong Buy’s analyst consensus rating on this action shows that Wall Street agrees with Trulieve’s value. The rating is based on 6 unanimous purchase reviews. The average price target of $ 49.49 suggests an increase of ~ 13% from the current trading price of $ 43.93. (See the Trulieve stock analysis at TipRanks) To find good ideas for trading cannabis stocks in compelling reviews, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that brings together all of TipRanks stock insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the analysts presented. The content should be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investments.