Yet despite the myriad of impediments to success that COVID stubbornly created along the way, many companies – small, medium, and large – demonstrated gritty determination and resilience to ride out the storm and to actually profit from it.
In this edition of Buzz on the Bullboards, we’re going to examine some of these success stories and show how corporate ingenuity, creativity and enterprise can plough through just about any obstacle…even a global viral pandemic.
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Obviously, investor buzz can be good. Or it can be bad. In the case of cannabis stocks, it can be both. And please, pardon the pun. The general consensus amongst industry analysts, shareholders and investors at large is that 2020 was bad, but not
as bad as 2019. Some shooting and some falling stars along the way.
One of those shooting stars has been
Christina Lake Cannabis Corp. (CLC) (
CSE.CLC,
Forum). Recently listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange on
October 1st, CLC has seen its shareholder value increase by about
70% and its market cap balloon to more that $70 million (at press time). And with approximately CDN$20 million raised privately to date, the Company has “realized favourable financial outcomes in its first operating year on account of the exceptionally low fixed costs of growing cannabis outdoors.”
And like the great outdoors, it’s easy to now see that the road to profitability for cannabis growers and cultivators, as many industry experts have peached, is outside. As in large-scale outdoor operations where the ROI and ROR versus even the largest indoor ops is exponentially higher and the cost of production is significantly lower.
It’s a brand new day, and year, at
Harborside Group Inc. (HBOR) (
CSE.HBOR,
OTC: HSDEF,
Forum) – the established and iconic Northern California-based cannabis retailer and cultivator. Recently reporting positive Q3 2020 financial results, HBOR has generated 21.2% sequential revenue growth, with
record gross revenues of $19.6 million and continued positive adjusted EBITDA of $4.5 million. The Company has also reported strong combined gross margin of 54.7% driven by improved harvest yields and higher wholesale volumes, and moving forward, expect full year gross revenues of approximately $61 million to $63 million with adjusted EBITDA of 8-10%.
And while they didn’t make this Top 6 list it’s been a banner year for
Voyager Digital Ltd. (VYGR) (
TSX-V.VYGR,
OTC: VYGVF,
Forum) – an emerging cryptocurrency technology company. Founded by Wall Street and Silicon Valley veterans, Voyager was uniquely developed to provide investors and traders with the “trust, accessibility, and efficiency” that a modern online brokerage offers, while addressing their growing needs for navigating this emerging asset class through a turnkey solution. As a “customer-first experience”, Voyager will facilitate the trading of a wide range of digital assets across many exchanges and market makers.
As the graphic above indicates, there has been plenty of industry buzz about the non-tobacco alternative
TAAT Lifestyle & Wellness Brands (
CSE.TAAT,
OTC: MOLOF,
Forum) – an early-stage life sciences company offering tobacco users a better-for-you alternative to smoking that is both tobacco-free and nicotine-free. Despite overwhelming medical evidence surrounding the dangers of smoking cigarettes, the number of smokers still remains high. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there are approximately 34 million Americans who are active smokers and over 480,000 people die from the habit every year.
Although numbers still remain high, more and more smokers are looking for ways to nix the habit, with 55.1% trying to quit in 2018. In less than six months, TAAT has seen its shareholder value increase more than three-fold – from $0.75 to $2.87 at press time. Clearly, investors, both retail and institutional – are seeing superb results from a company tapping in, healthily, to a $814 billion global tobacco industry.
What the "Buzz"
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In a recent Stockhouse Media podcast, we introduced our investor audience to an intriguing mining play in the heart of Canada’s most prolific helium region – Southern Saskatchewan. No longer just the breadbasket of Canada, investors are now waking up to a new play that’s very much part of the New Green Energy Revolution.
With over 900,000 acres of prospective helium lands in southwestern and south-central Saskatchewan held under lease, permit, or application,
Royal Helium Ltd. (RHC) (
TSX-V.RHC,
Forum) is currently one of the largest helium leaseholders in North America.
In July, the Company added to their existing target inventory another five wells in Southeast Saskatchewan bringing their target inventory to 13 over the first two of nearly a dozen chosen areas. All of their targets were derived from an abundance of existing well data and Royal’s recently reinterpreted 2D seismic and Royal flown deep, detailed magnetometer survey. RHC has also been on the shareholder value upswing recently, posting a nice December bounce from $0.26 to $0.32 a share.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (PYR) (
TSX-V.PYR,
OTCQB: PYRNF,
Forum) has been on fire, figuratively and literally, for most of 2020. PYR is a Canadian high-tech company which has established itself as an industry leader in several cutting-edge, plasma-based applications. The Company designs, develops, manufactures, and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products. And now, following a bumper 2020 on the Canadian markets, PyroGenesis is now
chasing a new U.S. listing on the Nasdaq, just weeks after transitioning from the TSX-Venture exchange to up-listing on the TSX.
In a recent Stockhouse article, we detailed how PyroGenesis has translated its success at gathering energy into strong financials, posting Q3 2020 revenue at around $8.1 million, nearly four times greater than the amount from the same period last year. The Company also reported solid comprehensive income of $15.3 million, compared to less than $1 million in the previous three months.
CEO, P. Peter Pascali stated that, “The company is at a stage where investors could benefit from an up-listing to a more senior exchange, has taken, and is taking, steps to do just that.” In 12 months, the company’s share price has skyrocketed from $0.42 a share to $3.58 at press time, with a year high of $5.70. Now that’s sizzling.
And while they didn’t make this Top 6 list, it’s been a banner year for
Voyager Digital Ltd. (VYGR) (
TSX-V.VYGR,
OTC: VYGVF,
Forum) – an emerging cryptocurrency technology company. Founded by Wall Street and Silicon Valley veterans, Voyager was uniquely developed to provide investors and traders with the “trust, accessibility, and efficiency” that a modern online brokerage offers, while addressing their growing needs for navigating this emerging asset class through a turnkey solution. As a “customer-first experience”, Voyager will facilitate the trading of a wide range of digital assets across many exchanges and market makers.
And while they didn’t make this Top 6 list it’s been a banner year for
Voyager Digital Ltd. (VYGR) (
TSX-V.VYGR,
OTC: VYGVF,
Forum) – an emerging cryptocurrency technology company. Founded by Wall Street and Silicon Valley veterans, Voyager was uniquely developed to provide investors and traders with the “trust, accessibility, and efficiency” that a modern online brokerage offers, while addressing their growing needs for navigating this emerging asset class through a turnkey solution. As a “customer-first experience”, Voyager will facilitate the trading of a wide range of digital assets across many exchanges and market makers.
As Voyager's platform continues to rapidly garner widespread acceptance by mainstream investors and crypto enthusiasts alike, VYGR’s Co-founder and CEO, Stephen Ehrlich explains the company’s mission succinctly here:
“Voyager has built, from the ground up, the most consumer-friendly, easy to use agency brokerage for trading over 50 digital assets, commission-free.”
10 months ago Voyager’s shares were trading at less than $0.20. Today the company’s market cap now north of $450 million and its share price has eclipsed $4.00 with – a 20-bagger, no less!
This brings us to this week’s Investor Pulse Poll question. Looking ahead to 2021, and using 2020 as a measuring stick, what business sectors do you think will be the most profitable and provide the best return on investment to shareholders? Let us know your thoughts by clicking on the image below.
As we prepare to say goodbye to 2020, and for many good riddance, and look forward a new year ahead of the holidays, investors are clearly enthused for the opportunities 2021 could bring to the markets, as well as Stockhouse. And, as always, we’ll be with you every step of the way…from the newest hot sectors and exploding small-cap opportunities, to game-changing corporate shakeups and stories that seem to pop up out-of-nowhere to captivate capital markets.