Tesla misses Q3 guidance; Time to buy cannabis stocks

Updated on

Whitney Tilson’s email to investors discussing Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) misses guidance; Three pot stocks I panned at the Stansberry conference a year ago; Cannabis Capitalist: A Contrarian Bet in the Midst of the Vaping Scare; Doug Kass: Time to Buy Cannabis Stocks; Class participation strategy No. 6.

1) Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are tanking today after the company missed its third-quarter delivery guidance of at least 100,000 cars that CEO Elon Musk hinted at only last week.

Get The Full Warren Buffett Series in PDF

Get the entire 10-part series on Warren Buffett in PDF. Save it to your desktop, read it on your tablet, or email to your colleagues

Q2 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc

How could Musk screw this up so badly? I think there are two possible answers...

One, Tesla's internal systems/controls are seriously deficient, and/or two, Musk is living in a world of delusion and desperation – and nobody is left to rein him in (probably both, but more of the latter)... Tesla Sets Deliveries Record While Falling Short of Elon Musk's Mark. Excerpt:

The electric-car maker handed over 97,000 vehicles to customers in the third quarter, exceeding the 95,356 reported for the prior three months. The figure let down investors who bid the shares up on Sept. 26 after Musk told employees they had a shot at reaching the six-figure mark for the first time. Tesla stock plunged as much as 6% after the close.

"When Elon Musk says they are aiming for 100,000 deliveries, you are hoping for 102,000. Not 97,000," Gene Munster, a managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, said by phone. "This is a credibility hit. This is a textbook example of Elon not being disciplined and having difficulty managing expectations."

2) On Monday, my colleague Enrique Abeyta and I will present our best stock ideas at the annual Stansberry Conference at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

I attended and spoke at the three-day event a year ago. During my presentation, I called pot stocks an obvious bubble and said, "you will get incinerated if you own these [three] stocks for any period of time," naming Tilray (TLRY), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), and Canopy Growth (CGC), which are down 85%, 56%, and 55%, respectively, since then.

Stansberry has a fabulous lineup of speakers who will share tremendous insights and a wide range of great investment ideas. You can watch the livestream from the convenience of your home or office – just click here for more details.

Buy cannabis stocks?

3) Speaking of pot stocks, they've been getting decimated ever since I called the top a year ago, as you can see in this chart of the ETFMG Alternative Harvest Fund (MJ), which tracks the sector...

However, unlike bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies – which are nothing but a techno-libertarian pump-and-dump scheme – the cannabis sector is very real and will grow enormously from here. So my instinct is that investment opportunities are beginning to emerge in the sector.

To separate the legitimate stock ideas from the riffraff, I turned to my friend at Stansberry Research, Tom Carroll, who writes the Cannabis Capitalist newsletter.

Regular Empire Financial Daily readers will recognize Tom's name. He spent nearly two decades as an analyst and managing director at Legg Mason and Stifel Financial. As I noted in my September 12 e-mail, "His background as both an award-winning stock-picker and his profound knowledge of the health care market make him well-qualified to analyze the cannabis industry and find undiscovered gems."

In that same e-mail, I highlighted his three favorite cannabis stocks in the sector: Charlotte's Web (TSX: CWEB), Green Thumb Industries (CNSX: GTII), and Trulieve (CNSX: TRUL).

When I asked Tom for an update on the sector yesterday, he shared one more idea – KushCo (OTC: KSHB) – which he wrote up for his subscribers in a recent Cannabis Capitalist update and was kind enough to allow me to share with you: A Contrarian Bet in the Midst of the Vaping Scare. Excerpt:

The cannabis sector is currently down, and KushCo's stock price has been unfairly punished. But we remain confident that KushCo is going to be one of the big winners as marijuana legalization expands across the U.S.

So I wanted to take a minute today to explain why we're continuing to hold KushCo in our portfolio. In fact, we believe the selling has only made it a better investment... And if you haven't already established a position in the stock, you may never get a better opportunity.

As I'll explain, if anything, the vaping crisis shows the industry needs more of what KushCo provides – not less...

While traveling in southern California last week, I stopped in and had an impromptu meeting with KushCo's management...

The vaping scare notwithstanding, there are four reasons KushCo is a great contrarian buy right now...

First, while the mysterious respiratory illness brought on by vapes is horrible, the current vaping scare will be solved...

Secondly, the vaping scare will drive users to the legal markets and quality products...

Third, customized product labeling will see increased demand...

Last, KushCo shares are trading at a valuation of less than 1 times sales.

Thank you, Tom! If you're interested in learning more about and subscribing to his Cannabis Capitalist newsletter – which is the only resource I'd recommend if you're interested in learning more about potential cannabis investments – click here.

4) But Tom isn't my only smart friend who thinks the cannabis sector is compelling right now...

Doug Kass of Seabreeze Partners gave me permission to share this recent article that he posted behind the paywall at Real Money Pro:

Time to Buy Cannabis Stocks (for a Trade)... and Soon for a Long Term Investment

* CGC could trade up to over $30 on the successful House vote passage of the SAFE Banking Act announced last evening

* While the short term may remain rocky (pot stocks are down by nearly 50% since April), investors with longer term timeframes should begin to consider investing in the sold down U.S. cannabis stocks

"This must be a first step toward the decriminalization and de-scheduling of marijuana." – Steny Hoyer

.....................

 

For now, let's say I am upgrading the space to "slightly positive." Cannabis stocks have been heavily debated – surrounded by zealots on both sides of the argument and in which, again, valuations have receded dramatically (in some measure because of the vaping controversy, an oversupply of weed for recreational use, credibility at CannTrust (CTST), individual company liquidity issues and concerns regarding the timing of FDA approvals and cannabis efficacy).

......................

 

That said, I have been steadily buying CGC (which I consider to be a hybrid U.S./Canadian company) over the last week as posted in my Diary. Besides the passage of the House Bill, possibly successful company sleeping trials and the installation of a new CEO provide potential upside catalysts.

Bottom Line

The cannabis space continues to be speculative but, given the price declines, I am considering establishing a long investment stake in a package of cannabis stocks (with emphasis on U.S.-based companies).

Seen almost as consumer package goods companies, the opportunities for U.S. cannabis stocks in ingredient applications such as beverages, cosmetics, pet supplements and, ultimately, cannabis medicine, are immense.

Some potential cannabis investment ideas that have retreated in price and have become attractive include Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF), Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF), Harvest Health & Recreation (HRVSF), and Vireo Health International (VREOF).

Position: Long CGC (large)

Doug added this post yesterday:

Getting Higher

I have established a small package of speculative cannabis stocks this morning which includes (CRLBF) ($5.40), (HRVSF) ($2.77), (GTBIF) ($8.37) and (CURLF) ($5.30).

5) Here's my sixth strategy for winning the class participation game:

  1. When you raise your hand, hold up a highlighter pen and wiggle it a bit.

Have you ever seen the studies that show that the human eye is drawn to color and movement? You want the professor to see that your hand is raised, especially if 20 others have their hands raised as well.

Best regards,

Whitney

Leave a Comment