Check out the latest Canopy Growth earnings call transcript.
What happened
Canadian cannabis grower Canopy Growth (WEED) (CGC 1.28%) saw its stock price spike to close 9.7% higher on Friday. You can thank investment bank Piper Jaffray for that.
This morning, Piper Jaffray -- which already had an overweight rating on the stock, as confirmed by financial news site TheFly.com -- raised its price target on those shares by a whopping 50%. Instead of $40, the price target at which Piper had previously pegged Canopy stock, the analyst now thinks the shares are worth $60.
Canopy's current sales are but a seed, but Piper Jaffray thinks this stock could grow like a weed. Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Why is Piper raising its target? The analyst explained that, in its view, the global market for marijuana has a potential for $250 billion to $500 billion in annual sales -- and could hit $15 billion to $50 billion in just the near term. (For comparison, Canopy Growth's own annual sales are just a hair over $70 million.)
So basically, Piper is saying there's a pretty huge market opportunity here for Canopy to grow into, and the company is well positioned to exploit it.
Now what
At least part of that growth now looks likely to happen in the U.S. as well. On Jan. 14, Canopy Growth secured a license to process hemp from the State of New York. It's a small entryway into the U.S. marijuana market, but as Piper Jaffray argues, it's a "tangible first step forward" and one that may pave the way to a long trajectory for U.S. growth.
