Jefferies skeptical on Tilray’s medical prospects

Jefferies initiated its coverage of B.C.’s Tilray at underperform with a price target of US$61 saying – essentially – ‘it’s no Canopy or Aurora.’ Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett wrote that “as a company wanting to be a global leader, we'd suggest the names that Tilray needs to be compared to are Canopy and Aurora. To this, when analysing the business we think there are a number of areas where Tilray is lacking vs. its closest peers. Its Canada medical share (core strength) is not in the top four and recent consumer feedback is not inspiring, the approach to recreational does not appear as well thought through.” Tilray hit its lowest point so far this year on Friday, reaching US$64.45 just after the open. However, the stock regained ground over the course of the day to close up 0.4 per cent at an even US$70.

New Mexico moves one step closer to recreational legalization

A bill that would allow state-run stores and require cannabis users to carry receipts along with their bud narrowly passed a Friday vote in New Mexico’s House of representatives. The vote, which passed by a 36-34 margin, seeks to limit smaller pot shops on city streets, squeeze out the home-grown cannabis movement, and remove revenue from the coffers of Mexican cartels.

London pot shop nabs one of Ontario’s first retail licences

Ontario Cannabis Holdings Corp partnered with London-based pot licence lottery winner Chris Comrie to become one of the first in the province to acquire a retail operator permit to sell cannabis. Comrie and OCH - which founded (and has since sold) Alberta’s NewLeaf Cannabis – aim to have their Central Cannabis store open on April 1. NewLeaf currently has 14 stores open in Alberta.

Pot pickups: Supreme beefs up executive; Trulieve picks new retail chief

Supreme Cannabis announced Friday it has appointed Nikhil Handa as its new chief financial officer. Handa takes over the job from Dimitre Naoumov, who has been named the company’s vice president of finance. Florida-based Trulieve, meanwhile, has named Timothy Morey as its new director of retail, replacing Jordan Atkins.

DAILY BUZZ

$7.10
- The price of a gram of cannabis in Canada, up 3.4 per cent from the week before, according to the Cannabis Benchmark’s Cannabis Spot Index. This marks the spot price’s first move north of $7 in 2018 and equates to US$2,412 per pound at current exchange rates.

Cannabis Canada is BNN Bloomberg’s in-depth series exploring the stunning formaton of the entirely new – and controversial – Canadian recreational marijuana industry. Read more from the special series here and subscribe to our Cannabis Canada newsletter to have the latest marijuana news delivered directly to your inbox every day