Canopy Growth Corp., the world’s biggest cannabis producer, continued to extend its market rally Tuesday, catapulting to a record valuation and placing it ahead of some major Canadian firms.
The Smiths Falls, Ont.-based company shot up 8.2 per cent in mid-morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday and now has a market capitalization north of $14.36 billion, making it the 45th largest company on the Canadian bourse. The rally pushed Canopy’s valuation ahead of other Canadian companies such as Open Text Corp., Power Corp. of Canada and Shaw Communications Inc.
The jump in Canopy shares comes after Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer raised her price target on the company to a “Street High” $74 from $56, while maintaining an “Outperform” rating in a report released to clients on Tuesday.
“We recently hosted meetings with [Canopy’s] management team and we walked away more constructive on [Canopy’s] ability to establish an early lead in the adult use cannabis market, as well as domestic and international medical cannabis markets,” Azer said in the report.
“With the ability to capture a strong early lead both domestically and internationally and generate CPG-like margins, we think [Canopy’s] valuation remains reasonable.”
Other major Canadian cannabis producers were also having a strong day on the market on Tuesday. Aphria Inc. was up 6.3 per cent on Tuesday while Aurora Cannabis Inc. rose 0.45 per cent.
Meanwhile, Cronos Group Inc. advanced 14.4 per cent after announcing it’s partnering with Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. in a US$122-million deal to genetically engineer active compounds in marijuana. The Toronto-based pot producer was hit by a report by short-seller Citron Research last week that questioned its disclosures to investors.
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