Companies and Brands

Canopy Growth Increasing Its Hemp and Cannabis Investments in 2019

Jon C. Ogg

Published: February 5, 2019 2:25 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 11:36 am

Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC) has been investing handily in the legalized marijuana business, and it’s about to invest even more in the American cannabis business. A fresh press release showed that Canopy intends to increase its total investment in a public Canadian company called Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSXV: RIV) by C$30 million in a private placement of shares.

While this is one increased investment, the coming investments in hemp and into legalized marijuana will be even larger. In a video interview on Yahoo! Finance, Canopy Growth’s CEO Bruce Linton is targeting up to $500 million in total investments in hemp production and related areas. Investors should consider that Canopy Growth has nearly a $16 billion market capitalization.

The Canadian cannabis company had previously announced an investment of $100 million to $150 million for processing and producing hemp in New York after it secured a license from that state’s officials in January. Canopy now has rather deep pockets to fund its investments. The hemp processing facility in New York will actually represent Canopy’s first large push into extraction and processing outside of Canada. Canopy is also adding hemp production in Rhode Island and two or three other states in the U.S.

It was not until November 1, 2018, that last year’s major $4 billion or so (U.S. dollars) investment by Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ) formally closed with shareholder and regulatory approvals. This capital is being used to fund and scale in the 30-plus countries currently pursuing federally permissible medical cannabis programs and legalization trends for marijuana. Constellation Brands now holds roughly 37% of Canopy’s outstanding common shares and appointed two members of its executive team and two independent directors to the company.

Back in November upon the Constellation transaction closing, co-CEO Bruce Linton said:

Our cash position opens up a world of opportunity for us. Relative to our valuation, we have never been in a better position to create shareholder value. This investment was a landmark moment for the entire sector when it was announced. Now that the capital is Canopy’s to deploy, we’re going to quickly get to work increasing our lead by adding strategic assets around the world.

It was just in January that Piper Jaffray initiated coverage with an overweight rating and a $40 price target, which it then turned around and raised the target to $60 about two weeks later.

Shares of Canopy Growth were last seen trading up 5 cents at $46.58. Its 52-week range is $18.93 to $59.25.