IM Cannabis is a Buy, says Roth Capital

The company is repositioning its business and exiting the Canadian market but IM Cannabis (IM Cannabis Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:IMCC) remains a leading international presence in the cannabis space. That’s according to Roth Capital Partners analyst Scott Fortune, who delivered a report on IMCC on Tuesday where he reiterated a “Buy” rating on the stock, saying investors should see a leaner and more efficient outfit from IM Cannabis going forward.

Israel-based IM Cannabis, which has premium cannabis products for the medical markets in Israel, Germany and Canada, announced its third quarter 2022 financials on November 14, featuring revenue up 78 per cent year-over-year and up 12 per cent sequentially to $14.2 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $3.7 million compared to a loss of $2.3 million a year earlier. (All figures in Canadian dollars except where noted otherwise.)

Earlier this month, IM Cannabis announced that it would be closing operations in Canada, including wholly-owned subsidiary Trichome, with the aim of heading towards profitability as a company.

“The third quarter marked a pivotal moment on our trajectory to profitability,” said Oren Shuster, CEO of IM Cannabis, in a press release. “By commencing our exit from Canada, we are now concentrating all our efforts on our highest value markets, Israel and Germany, to accelerate our path to profitability and long-term shareholder value.”

Commenting on the restructuring, Fortune said while IM’s Canadian brands were maintaining market share in the premium cannabis category, Trichome operations were a drag on the company’s EBITDA. Fortune noted that now without Trichome as a source of premium cannabis for its other operations, IM is expecting to leverage its sourcing and strategic allegiances with other Canadian suppliers instead, with new announcements of these supply agreements expected in the near future.

On the third quarter, Fortune said the company is experiencing strong premium cannabis sales in Israel. As a sign of that progress, the company’s average selling price went up significantly to $9.08 per gram, up 37 per cent year-over-year. 

“Despite global headwinds, we believe IMC remains well positioned in Israel’s premium cannabis segment to drive robust growth and is set to benefit from the global recreational opportunity long term. With the exit from the Canadian market and refocused resources in Israel and Germany, we are adjusting our ’22/’23 revenue/EBITDA estimates, to $76.7 million/negative $15.4 million and $75.1 million/negative $1.6 million,” Fortune wrote.

IM Cannabis completed on November 17 its already-announced one-for-ten share consolidation, with the result impacting Fortune’s target price, which has been decreased to US$7.00 per share, reflecting at press time a projected one-year return of 143 per cent.