Is Curaleaf stock still a buy?

The stock has been a steady climber since last October, but ahead of earnings is Curaleaf (Curaleaf Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:CURA) still a buy?

On May 9, after market close, CURA will report its Q1,2024 results.

Beacon Securities analyst Russell Stanley laid out what he expects from the quarter.

“We are looking for revenue/adjusted of $337M/$71M, which looks conservative against current consensus at $340M/$80M,” he wrote. “Current revenue forecasts range $335-$345M, while our adjusted EBITDA forecast is the current street low, with the range at $71-$87M. During its Q4 earnings call in early March, CURA guided to Q1 revenue being flat-todown slightly from $345M in Q4. We are also looking for operating cash flow of $21M. While that is in line with consensus, FactSet shows just three estimates ranging $2-$33M.

In a research update to clients May 2, Stanley maintained his “Buy” rating and price target of $8.00 on CURA, implying a return of 2% at the time of publication.

The analyst thinks CURA will post Adjusted EBITDA of $337-million on revenue of $1.43-billion in fiscal 2024. He expects those numbers will improve to Adjusted EBITDA of $447-million on a topline of $1.60-billion in fiscal 2025.

“CURA now trades at 11.8x our F2025 adjusted EBITDA forecast, representing a 44% premium to the 8.2x average among the other four major MSOs,” Stanley noted.