| Thursday | ||||
Canaccord analyst Matt… Canaccord analyst Matt Bottomley lowered the firm's price target on Verano Holdings to C$23 from C$24.50 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. | ||||
In this edition of…
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Verano Holdings announced… Verano Holdings announced the opening of Zen Leaf Westover, the Company's second in West Virginia dispensary and 99th location nationwide, on Friday, May 27. Zen Leaf Westover, located at 871 Fairmont Road, is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, local time. Zen Leaf Westover is located in Monongalia County, the third largest county in West Virginia, with a population of over 106,0002. The dispensary is conveniently located just over one mile from the Morgantown Mall and two miles from West Virginia University, which has a population of nearly 26,000 students. Across West Virginia, Verano has permits issued by West Virginia's Office of Medical Cannabis to operate a cultivation and processing facility, along with seven total medical cannabis dispensaries that are projected to continue to open throughout 2022, subject to customary approvals. | ||||
| Wednesday | ||||
TILT Holdings has signed… TILT Holdings has signed an amendment to its previously announced definitive agreement to sell its White Haven, Pennsylvania facility. The Amendment allows TILT and Innovative Industrial Properties to extend the end of the investigational period of the transaction contemplated to a date that is on or before June 17, 2022. The outstanding diligence items include buyer's third-party reports, including a phase I environmental assessment, zoning report and survey, and the Preliminary Title Report for the property, all of which were ordered in a timely manner following the effective date of the Purchase Agreement, but due to unforeseen delays have not yet been received by the parties. The extension provides an additional 24 days for the receipt of the outstanding diligence items. The Company expects to complete this transaction before the end of the quarter. Since its acquisition in January 2019, the Company has operated the White Haven facility, located at 411 Susquehanna Street, and comprised of an approximately 40,000 square-foot building that includes cultivation, processing, and a product manufacturing lab, as Standard Farms LLC. More information is available in the Company's original press release, issued January 28, 2019. | ||||
Q1 2022 gross profit was… Q1 2022 gross profit was $100M or 49% of revenue, compared to $54M in the first quarter 2021; excluding an M&A inventory step up and depreciation and amortization, gross margin was 61%, up 1% from Q4 2021 on a comparable basis. Net loss in the first quarter 2022 was $7M, compared to a loss of $2 million in the first quarter 2021. "I am proud of the financial and operational performance we achieved this quarter, including sustaining our signature industry-leading margins, despite facing substantial headwinds that have affected our industry and the broader economy," said George Archos, Verano Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "We remain focused on execution, evidenced by our continued retail footprint expansion, where we added seven locations in the first quarter, including our first Zen Leaf dispensary in West Virginia. Further, the April launch of adult-use sales in New Jersey generated significant and immediate growth in the state, which is representative of similar opportunities we are poised to capitalize on in future transitioning markets in our portfolio. This summer, we are excited to add Zen Leaf Neptune as an additional adult-use dispensary in a prime Jersey Shore location, and throughout the course of 2022, we will continue to invest back in our business through a number of cultivation construction and expansion projects. Overall, we are pleased by our progress in strategically positioning Verano to capitalize on anticipated growth in the second half of the year and beyond." | ||||
| Monday | ||||
The company said,… The company said, "Verano Holdings notified the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado of its complete victory in arbitration regarding various frivolous RICO claims brought by Nicholas Nielsen. The arbitrator dismissed all of Nielsen's claims with prejudice and awarded Verano nearly $100,000 in attorney's fees in the arbitration, further underscoring the groundless nature of the lawsuit. In his claims, originally brought in Federal Court but ultimately adjudicated on the merits in arbitration, Nielsen failed to disclose that he had pled guilty to a four-count felony indictment in the State of Arkansas for the blatantly illegal marijuana cultivation and production operation he ran out of his home. Nielsen's claims were a meritless effort to shift blame to Verano and more than fifty other defendants for his conviction, which was based on illegal activity in which he engaged on his own volition and without the knowledge or involvement of Verano or others. With operations in 13 states, all with highly regulated state-legalized cannabis programs, Verano is a leading, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator in the United States. This complete victory for Verano validates its vigorous efforts to defend itself from these false, baseless and defamatory allegations that struck at one of Verano's core foundational principles - strict compliance with applicable law." | ||||
| Over a week ago | ||||
Verano Holdings announced… Verano Holdings announced the opening of MUV Ocala on Friday, May 20, the Company's 47th Florida dispensary and 98th nationwide. MUV Ocala, located at 3701 SW College Road, is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., local time. MUV Ocala is located in Marion County, a rapidly growing area that experienced a population increase of 13.5% from 2010 to 2021. Ocala was also recently named the sixth fastest-growing city in the United States. | ||||
Canaccord analyst Matt… Canaccord analyst Matt Bottomley lowered the firm's price target on Columbia Care to C$4.50 from C$6 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. | ||||
MariMed announced it had… MariMed announced it had been awarded a provisional dispensary license, PDL, by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. MariMed won this license in the Ohio lottery process. The license allows the Company to develop a medical dispensary in Tiffin, Ohio, located south of Toledo and home to the University of Bucharest and Tiffin University. Under the Ohio regulations, MariMed must complete the buildout and pass final inspection by February of 2023. "We are delighted to enter the medical cannabis program in Ohio," said Bob Fireman, Chief Executive Officer of MariMed. "We intend to seek additional opportunities to expand our cannabis operations in Ohio including the distribution of our award-winning branded products." | ||||
Alliance Global Partners… Alliance Global Partners analyst Aaron Grey lowered the firm's price target on Columbia Care to C$8 from C$9 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares, noting that the company reported sales below his and Street estimates. Despite the sales miss, the company maintained its 2022 sales view, but continued consumer headwinds could cause sales to come in below current guidance, said Grey. However, he still views the company as well-positioned for the long-term given the company's assets in key U.S. states and the pending Cresco merger, Grey added. | ||||
