This is your Daily Hit of cannabis financial news for October 28, 2021.

On the Site

GH Research 

Psychedelic biopharmaceutical company GH Research PLC (NASDAQ: GHRS) saw its shares pop over 15% in trading after the company was named in a hedge fund purchase. Mark Lampert’s Biotechnology Value Fund initiated $200 million worth of brand new positions in depression drug-focused GH Research, making it the largest stock holding of the fund’s 13F portfolio. Last month, the company noted that it has $292 million in cash and the net loss was $2.1 million, or $0.053 loss per share. Its R&D expenses were $2 million for the quarter versus just $39 thousand for the same quarter in 2020. The increase was primarily due to increased activities relating to its technical developments and clinical trials and increases in employee expenses to support these activities. The stock was rising 17% at one point in trading, but was lately selling at $19.47. GH Research went public in June pricing shares at $16.

BMO

A new report from BMO Capital Markets outlines the state of the Canadian and U.S. cannabis markets and specifically calls out the increasing competition for American companies. The report also suggests that the Canadian LPs (licensed producers) are likely to fall behind as they lack the profitability of the neighbors to the South. Even though Canada was the first to legalize adult-use sales, the country has instituted punishing regulations and taxes and has an unlimited license regime (i.e., the federal government can issue an unlimited number of production licenses) that has caused the number of dispensaries to soar in Alberta and Ontario. In addition to that, BMO noted that miscalculations around what cannabis consumers want, and overspending in the wrong areas by many companies, have led to sizable P&L losses and dismal stock performances among the LPs. Green Market Report had a chance to review the report and will specifically focus on the analyst’s outlook for the U.S. companies.

MedMen

The MedMen trial continues this week as the company pushes back against former CFO James Parker. According to reporting by Law360, MedMen’s attorney William F. Dugan of Baker McKenzie has tried to argue that because Parker negotiated his employment contract essentially on his own, the terms aren’t enforceable.

Law360 reported that most of Dugan’s questions during the third day of the trial reviewed the process and manner that Parker pursued while negotiating his employment contract with MedMen. Despite having a personal attorney hired to review the contract, Parker apparently took the lead. He also testified that even though there was a compensation consultant, he signed the contract without waiting for a report from the consultant. The testimony suggested that the contract contained some language that the consultant didn’t favor. Parker is claiming to be owed $24 million under the terms of the contract.

In Other News

4Front

 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQX: FFNTF) has started operations at one of the largest, cannabis manufacturing facilities in the world. The company’s 170,000 sq. ft. facility will manufacture both in-house and partner brands, including infused pre-rolls, gummies, hard candies, fruit chews, caramels, mints, soft gel capsules, vapes, tinctures, and other manufactured infused products. It also has 80,000 sq. ft. of distribution and warehousing space, 25,450 sq. ft. of finished goods storage, and 3,931 sq. ft. of dry flower storage.