The Green Organic Dutchman is already too expensive, this fund manager says

Exciting as The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings’ (TSX:TGOD) early May IPO might have been, the company’s ability to generate product and profit still remain untested — much like the rest of the pot co’s in Canada’s cannabis space, says Scott Willis, head of research at Grizzle, who claims there are cheaper weed stocks than TGOD.

Mississauga-based TGOD made a splashy debut on May 2, raising $115 million in its IPO, the largest yet in Canada’s cannabis space. The company has a strategic partnership with Aurora Cannabis whereby the latter has invested $78.1 million in TGOD for a 17.5 per cent stake. All told and including a recently closed $25 million bought deal financing round, the company says it has raised $315 million in funding.

With its $1.15-billion market cap, TGOD’s stock is currently trading up 67 per cent over its first two months. But Willis argues that for its small size and lack of proven capabilities, the company is sporting a too-high multiple compared to its peers.

“They’ve been a popular stock with investors,” Willis told BNN Bloomberg. “Aurora is entitled to about half of their production and so they have use of Aurora’s expertise, and I think they’re pretty intertwined and management talks quite a bit. So they’re an interesting one.”

“Because they’ve been so well-liked by the market, their multiple is pretty high. Not as high as the bellwethers [Canopy Growth Corp] and Aurora but it’s up there, so you’re still running into the same issue with the supply coming down the pipe,” he says.

Last month, TGOD announced that it had taken a 49 per cent stake in Epican Medicinals, a licensed Jamaican cannabis producer, with TGOD saying that it plans to provide expertise and financing for Epican to build a new 125,000 sq. ft. facility in Jamaica.

And just last week, TGOD announced a letter of intent for a joint venture with Danish grower Knud Jepsen, which gives the company a European presence, says Robert Anderson, TGOD’s CEO.

“Organic is one of our key differentiators and when creating a catalog of higher margin products across varying delivery methods, organic inputs make a significant difference in the end product,” says Anderson. “This JV establishes TGOD’s product across Europe and increases our funded capacity to 195,000 kgs. This represents another significant step forward as we create the largest organic cannabis brand in the world.”

There are now three and a half months to go before the October 17 date when legal retail cannabis outlets will open their doors across Canada, with many provinces yet to firm up their supply agreements.

“We would say that if [TGOD] is the one you like for the long term, then you gotta buy it and don’t look back,” says Willis. “But there are some cheaper names that I would buy that are in the same position as far as their export opportunities and production levels [go], like Hydropothecary Corp, for example. [TGOD] is a good company but they have the same issues that the industry is facing.”