Cannabis Corner: These stocks all have bright futures

Article Excerpt

Canada legalized cannabis four years ago. While demand has been steady, stiff competition has cut selling prices significantly. Meanwhile, advertising restrictions and plain packaging rules make it hard to build brands that win customer loyalty. Still, we think some companies have a distinct edge—including their prospects for added sales in the U.S. as President Joe Biden stirs talk that the federal government could eventually decriminalize cannabis use. Those are the quality stocks we focus on in “Cannabis Corner.” VILLAGE FARMS $0.87 (Nasdaq symbol VFF; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (www.villagefarms.com; Shares outstanding: 110.2 million; Market cap: $100.6 million; TSI Cannabis Quality Rating [CQR]:) reported revenue of $69.5 million in the three months ended December 31, 2022. That was down 4.0% from $72.4 million a year earlier. The revenue decline is attributable to a stronger U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar. That resulted in a $2.4 million fall in reported U.S. sales. Meanwhile, in 2022, Village Farms became the number-two top-selling cannabis company in Canada; it…