cannabis – Financial Treason & Crime

Mark P, 11 December 2019

Cannabis stocks have had a history of being rife with scandals and potential wrongdoings. While it’s unfortunate that the industry has garnered such a reputation, for the most part, this perception has died down a bit in 2019. However, from time to time, a well-known cannabis company will be implicated in something illegal or against the law. That’s what happened today with Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY), which was hit with a $300 million lawsuit from an acquisition target that claimed Tilray was trying to make them go bankrupt.

While it didn’t make headlines in the financial press, Bloomberg quietly mentioned that Tilray had been hit with a hefty lawsuit from a soap company called Trimax, which argued that the pot company had been trying to bankrupt one of its subsidiaries in order to make it easy to buy them out. Specifically, Trimax claims that Tilray wanted to buy its line of CBD products at a discount.gh cash that is inflated or compromised, and warranty and service costs are understated by at least $11 million.
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08/13/201902/25/2021

Article: Avoid Namaste (TSXV:N) Stock at All Costs

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Avoid Namaste (TSXV:N) Stock at All Costs

Adam Othman, 13 August 13 2019

Namaste Technologies (TSXV:N) seemed like the company to promise an online cannabis platform that could cater to the needs of the increasingly massive cannabis industry. The reality of the situation is far away from the potential the company had.

The cannabis-centred e-commerce technology company fired its CEO, Sean Dollinger, earlier this year, following Citron Research’s report that put a sizable dent in the share price of Namaste. The company was accused of making fake claims of a Nasdaq listing in order to get investors to buy stock. The company’s board sprang into action to form a special committee to investigate the claims.
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04/23/201902/25/2021

Article: Village Farms International Inc (TSX:VFF): This Famous Investor Thinks it’s a Giant Fraud

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Village Farms International Inc (TSX:VFF): This Famous Investor Thinks it’s a Giant Fraud

Ryan Vanzo, 23 April 2019

Village Farms International (TSX:VFF)(NASDAQ:VFF) stock is riding high from all the cannabis hype. Since 2019 began, shares have exploded higher by more than 300%. The run could be over, however. At least that’s what one famous investor is saying. While you may not have heard of Andrew Left, he is one of the most respected short-sellers today. His firm Citron Research has uncovered countless frauds and scams, profiting handsomely after the stocks take a dip. Recently, Left has set his targets on Village Farms. Here’s what he discovered.
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02/07/201902/25/2021

Article: Houston, Pot Stock Namaste Technologies Has a Problem

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Houston, Pot Stock Namaste Technologies Has a Problem

Sean Williams, 07 February 2019

On early Monday morning, Feb. 4, Namaste Technologies (OTC:NXTTF), a small-cap cannabis company known best for selling vaporizers and starting up a medical cannabis portal known as NamasteMD, issued a press release that announced the termination of its CEO Sean Dollinger, with cause. Before we get to the specifics of this press release and why Dollinger was relieved of his leadership role, it helps to have some background on why this press release was necessary.

Back in October, noted short-seller Citron Research, which is headed by Andrew Left, released a report alleging that Namaste Technologies was a “complete fraud.” Left accused Namaste of making a “fake claim of a Nasdaq listing to get investors to buy the stock” and, more importantly, claimed to have uncovered a related party sale tied to the company’s divestiture of Dollinger Enterprises in Nov. 2017.
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01/29/201902/25/2021

Article: FSD Pharma: A Rollup With Scattered, Uneconomical Cannabis Investments, 50-70% Downside

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FSD Pharma: A Rollup With Scattered, Uneconomical Cannabis Investments, 50-70% Downside

WHITE DIAMOND, 25 January 2019

FSD Pharma’s founder, Thomas Fairfull, and director, Anthony Durkacz, have a history of value destruction. Durkacz had an average loss of 92% over 11 stocks in which he had involvement. The company spent $8 million on listing fees, which is a head-scratcher, as it is multiple times larger than what comps spend. Durkacz has received an astounding sum of over C$28.7 million total current value in cash and warrants for being both a director and broker for FSD. FSD Pharma routinely announces investing in other small cannabis companies, but so far has shown little follow-through. We have a price target on FSD of C$0.09 per share, which was its pre-RTO financing price less than a year ago.
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12/06/201802/25/2021

Article: Aphria fallout: 5 takeaways on the report that sent this cannabis stock plunging

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Aphria fallout: 5 takeaways on the report that sent this cannabis stock plunging

Lisa Bernard-Kuhn and Matt Lamers, 06 December 2018

The blows to Aphria’s stock continued Wednesday as the Canadian cannabis giant’s share price tumbled in the wake of a scathing short-seller report. Aphria’s stock (Nasdaq: APHA) closed Wednesday at $4.51 – down more than 25% for the day. The company has been on the defensive since Monday, refuting claims lobbed by short sellers Quintessential Capital Management and Hindenburg Research that Aphria’s management is a part of a shell game controlled by insiders raiding company coffers to line their own pockets. Aphria, in a statement issued Monday, called the allegations “malicious.”
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12/03/201802/25/2021

Article: HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Encourages ACM Research (ACMR) Investors with Losses to Contact Its Attorneys, Securities Fraud Case Filed

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The marijuana producer Aphria is crashing after short seller alleges it’s a ‘shell game with a cannabis business on the side’ (APHA)

Ethel Jiang, 03 December 2018

The marijuana producer Aphria slumped as much as 30% — to a low of $5.60 a share — after a firm alleged the company’s business was full of overvalued buyouts and fraudulent financial reporting. “Aphria is part of a scheme orchestrated by a network of insiders to divert funds away from shareholders into their own pockets,” short seller Quintessential Capital Management’s Hindenburg Research said Monday morning in a report titled “Aphria: a shell game with a cannabis business on the side.” Aphria responded Monday afternoon in a press release, referring Hindenburg Research’s report as “a malicious and self-serving attempt to profit by manipulating Aphria’s stock price at the expense of Aphria’s shareholders.”
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11/12/201802/26/2021

Article: Citron’s Left calls Tilray surge its ‘worst day ever’ in market

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Citron’s Left calls Tilray surge its ‘worst day ever’ in market

David Randall, 12 November 2018

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Andrew Left, one of Wall Street’s most prominent short-sellers, said Tilray Inc gave his firm its “worst day ever in the market” two months ago when its shares almost doubled in one session, but he remains bearish on the Canadian cannabis company.

Left, whose Citron Research has been betting against the stock since it traded in the $70s, was caught unprepared for the surge, which took the stock as high as $300 in intraday trading on Sept. 19, he told the Reuters Global Investment 2019 Outlook Summit in New York on Monday.
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09/19/201802/26/2021

Article: Short-seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research says surge in cannabis company Tilray is ‘beyond comprehension’

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Short-seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research says surge in cannabis company Tilray is ‘beyond comprehension’

Lenore Fedow, 19 September 2018

Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) set the cannabis space ablaze following an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, sending its shares surging double digits. But short-seller Andrew Left’s Citron Research had some harsh words to share about the Canadian cannabis company.

Citron Research was previously bullish on Tilray following Constellation Brands Inc‘s (NYSE:STZ) additional US$4bn investment in its rival Canopy Growth Inc (NYSE:CGC, TSX:WEED). Left had said it could be the next marijuana company to get a “white knight at a premium to market.”

The short-seller has cast doubt on other cannabis stocks via Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) as well, including Cronos Group Inc (NASDAQ:CRON, CSE:CRON) and Namaste Technologies Inc (CVE:N, OTCQB:NXTTF). Shares of Tilray soared nearly 50% to US$232 in Wednesday pre-market trading.
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09/12/201802/26/2021

Article: Our Final Word on $TLRY before $50

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Our Final Word on $TLRY before $50

Citron Research, 12 September 2018

Tilray management is not stupid. Just seven weeks ago Tilray decided to go public with an offering price of $17. This was done with much deliberation between them and their many bankers. With this price Citron believes they took into consideration all future deals and partnerships that the company had been planning.

The recent cannabis stock rally is a US phenomenon fueled by retail investors. Since August 15, US marijuana stocks Tilray and Cronos have significantly outpaced the performance of their Canadian traded peers.

Due to federal regulation, US listed stocks cannot have any operations in the US without losing their listings, whereas Canadian listed stocks can have US operations. The US will be the largest cannabis market in the world. Today, the California market is over 5x larger than all of Canada. Despite obvious logic, we’ve seen US retail investors pile into the US listed marijuana stocks.
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09/04/201802/26/2021

Article: Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Files a Securities Class Action on Behalf of Cronos Group, Inc. Investors (CRON)

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Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Files a Securities Class Action on Behalf of Cronos Group, Inc. Investors (CRON)

BUSINESS WIRE, 04 September 2018

National law firm Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP (“GPM”) announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of persons and/or entities that acquired Cronos Group, Inc. (“Cronos” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: CRON) securities between August 21, 2018, and August 30, 2018, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Plaintiff pursues claims against the Defendants, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

On August 30, 2018, Citron Research published an article entitled “Cronos: The Dark Side of Cannabis Space,” alleging, among other things, that the Company has been “deceiving the investing public by purposely not disclosing the size of its distribution agreements with provinces – unlike every other major cannabis player” and that this was because “the agreements are so small that they could never justify the premium investors are paying for the stock.” On this news, Cronos’ share price fell $3.62 per share, or over $28%, to close at $9.12 per share on August 30, 2018, on unusually heavy trading volume.
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08/30/201802/26/2021

Article: Cronos: The Dark Side of The Cannabis Space Target Price- $3.50

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Cronos: The Dark Side of The Cannabis Space Target Price- $3.50

Citron Research, 30 August 2018

Citron has a hot hand in cannabis lately. First Aurora ($ACB) and then in the last two weeks our trading calls played out to 70% returns. One long and one short (respectively: $TLRY and $CVSI). Citron would like to inform investors of caution on the ongoing and real green rush. Although the hype is big and the prohibition after 100 years is real, it is critical to understand that in the Canadian landscape, there are over 100 licensed producers and there will ultimately be more losers than winners.

While Canadian growers get ready for October 17 and the new age of recreational marijuana usage in Canada, Citron believes that there are a few truths that need to come to light with regards to Cronos. Cronos management appears to have been deceiving the investing public by purposely not disclosing the size of its distribution agreements with provinces – unlike every other major cannabis player
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08/15/201802/26/2021

Article: TILRAY: NEXT IN LINE IN A BUDDING CANNABIS INDUSTRY

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TILRAY: NEXT IN LINE IN A BUDDING CANNABIS INDUSTRY

Citron Research, 15 August 2018

On Jan 3, 2018, Citron predicted that Aurora Cannabis would fall from the then $14 to $6.50. It currently trades at $6.19.

Today we state that you would have to be ‘high’ to short any of the marijuana names based on the recent investment by Constellation in to Canopy Growth, the largest investment in the space ($4bn).The premium paid to market shows confidence by Constellation that could rattle any short seller.

The opportunity now lies in finding the next company to get a white knight at a premium to market and to Citron that answer is easy- Tilray.

Citron believes that Tilray is best in class and if it were to get the same multiple we are assigning to Canopy, the stock would be trading at $45 a share.
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05/06/201803/01/2021

Article: A Bull Market in Stock Bashing and 12 Stories from New Cannabis Ventures

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A Bull Market in Stock Bashing and 12 Stories from New Cannabis Ventures

Alan Brochstein, 06 May 2018

With so much interest in the the cannabis sector, we have noticed an increase in the number of bearish pieces on publicly-traded companies on platforms like Seeking Alpha. This week, for instance, an article called for an 80% decline in Namaste Technologies. The same writer, “Grumpy Bear Research”, took a shot at Isodiol International in the prior week. Many of the leading LPs in Canada have been the subject of these attacks as well, including, most recently, Aphria.

We aren’t going to weigh in on the validity of the arguments made or our views of these companies, but we do want to discuss the bigger picture. Many, though certainly not all, of these articles are very well researched and bring out information that is new to many investors in the company, often a reflection of the lack of due diligence done by retail investors and the void in negative research published by the Canadian investment banking firms that cover the space.
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