These two Florida cannabis stocks are Buys, says Beacon

Florida has been a hot cannabis market for years, but it could get a whole lot hotter in the Sunshine State if adult-use sales become a reality. Providing an update on that front were Beacon Securities analysts Doug Cooper and Russell Stanley, who broke down the numbers in a Monday report.

Florida’s medical market received a go vote in the 2016 election and it has been one of the best growth jurisdictions in the country so far, with qualified patient numbers going from the mid-600,000s as of last December to now 776,365 and currently just over 2,000 net new patients added per week.

Many cities and counties have by now decriminalized small-amount possession, but with a population of 21.5 million, the prospects are huge if and when recreational sales are legalized. 

On that front, Cooper and Stanley pointed to the efforts of Smart & Safe Florida, a group working to secure a spot for legalization on the November 2024 ballot. Florida law requires 223,000 valid signatures to trigger a Supreme Court review of the language and about 890,000 to put the question on the next ballot. The analysts said a recent Miami Times report had it that the initiative had obtained 54,000 signatures so far, but they also noted that Kim Rivers, CEO of Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis, said at a conference earlier this month that the count was currently at about 480,000 signatures collected.

“If 65 per cent of those are validated, that implies ~312k valid signatures have already been secured, meaning the initiative has likely already surpassed the threshold for a Supreme Court review of the language,” Cooper and Stanley wrote.

In other news, the analysts noted Trulieve’s recent announcement of an exclusive Florida partnership with California-based Connected Cannabis and its suite of cannabis strains under the AlienLabs brand. AlienLabs’ indoor-grown flower began selling in Trulieve dispensaries last Thursday, with the launch of Connected’s own strains on December 20.

Finally, Cooper and Stanley pointed to Ayr Wellness, which recently received a Department of Health approval to open a dispensary in Orlando, representing the company’s 54th store nationwide and putting it in a tie for third-largest retail footprint in the country. As for Florida, Trulieve currently had 45 per cent of flower sales by volume in recent weeks and is #1 in that capacity, compared to Ayr Wellness, which had nine per cent of flower sales and is in fourth place in the state.

Stock: Trulieve Cannabis (Trulieve Cannabis Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials CSE:TRUL)

Beacon Securities Rating: Buy

Beacon Target Price: C$52.00

Projected 12-month Return: 318 per cent

Stock: Ayr Wellness (Ayr Wellness Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials CSE:AYR.A)

Beacon Securities Rating: Buy

Beacon Target Price: C$22.00

Projected 12-month Return: 878 per cent