In what seems like a crazy comparison, Raymond James analyst Rahul Sarugaser likens cannabis company Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CRON) (TSX:CRON) to Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) development in the 1970s.
In a research note to clients following the release of Cronos’ Q1 financial results on May 8, Mr. Sarugaser expects the cannabis grower/distributor will dominate the marijuana market with its technology and intellectual property. He cited Cronos’ partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks, which has successfully engineered its first set of organisms to produce cannabinoids by biosynthesis.
“This is a big development. We recommend investors take note,” arguing that this biosynthesis technology will “propel Cronos to the forefront of the cannabinoid consumer product space not in five years, but maybe two.”
“Anyone interested in buying pre-IPO AAPL shares?” the Raymond James analyst wrote.
While Apple Inc is well known for its large cash holding, Cronos Group also has a notable amount of money on the books, ending the first-quarter 2020 with cash and equivalents of US$1.128 billion.
Shares of Cronos Group are down 11% during the past month, to its current price of C$7.67, and the stock is off 23% year to date.
Cannabis stocks have received some investor love during the past week after Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB) announced a pathway to profitability during the next year. Shares of Aurora have soared 146% during the past three trading sessions on TSX as of Tuesday’s close.
Canaccord Genuity, meanwhile, cuts its target price on Aurora Cannabis stock from C$27.00 to C$24.00 on Tuesday.
