Aphria, Aurora Among Top Performers As Canadian Cannabis Sales Spike

Canada’s recreation cannabis sales grew by 19% in March to reach CA$181.1 million ($131.5 million), ahead of most U.S. states, according to Cantor Fitzgerald.

Analyst Pablo Zuanic said that Canada’s March sales data was significantly ahead of Cantor’s mid-single digit estimate, partly due to pantry loading, but also on account of continued Cannabis 2.0 rollouts.

Ratings And Price Targets

Cantor analyst Pablo Zuanic maintained the following ratings and price targets on cannabis stocks:

Overweight

• Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB with a CA$27 price target. 
• Aphria Inc. APHA with a CA$9.55 price target. 
• OrganiGram Holdings Inc OGI with a price target of CA$5.60. 

Neutral

• Canopy Growth Corp CGC with a price target of CA$25. 
• Tilray Inc TLRY with a price target of $8. 

Underweight

• Hexo Corp HEXO with a price target of CA$0.72.

Cantor's Cannabis Takeaways 

Comparing Canada’s 17th month of recreational cannabis sales with Colorado's figures indicates that the country’s market may grow to CA$14 billion by the end of 2024, Zuanic said in the industry note.

So far, the best performers in the first quarter are Aphria, with 53% sales growth, and Aurora Cannabis and Tilray, with sales growth in the mid-20% range, the analyst said.

Canopy Growth is scheduled to report its March quarter results Friday.

Zuanic named Aphria and Aurora Cannabis as top picks.

Related Links: 

Canopy Growth Set To Become Cannabis Sector Leader, Says BofA

The Week In Cannabis: A Great Week For Stocks Driven By Confusion, Aurora's Rally, New Advisors To Benzinga

Courtesy photo

• Analista: Aphria y Aurora Cannabis Posicionados para Liderar Ventas en Canadá