You are reading this week’s edition of New Cannabis Ventures, a weekly magazine we have published since October 2015. The newsletter includes unique insight to help our readers stay ahead of the curve, as well as links to the most important news of the week. We no longer email them like we used to, but post this and all newsletters on our website here.
friends,
I’m a big fan of Green Thumb Industries and I like its president and CEO, Ben Kovler. I also like its president, Anthony Georgiadis. After the close on Monday, the world learned of their big stock sell-off that took place last Friday. Kovler sold 162,500 shares $6.50 average price and Georgiadis sold 125,000 shares also for $6.50. The total raised for the two was $1.87 million, and it did so at a lower price than when GTBIF closed on 8/8 ($7.13), the day before and other cannabis stocks rose on renewed potential realignment. It was also 20.4% lower where GTI closed on the last day of 2024.
The company has not made any disclosures other than filing Form 4. So the public and GTI investors have to try to figure this out. why did two executives offload so much stock? First, the good news. both still hold a lot of influence, with CEO Kovler owning more than 692,000 shares directly and another 158,000 shares indirectly. He also owns 57,000 Super Voting shares directly and 86,000 indirectly. 143,000 Super Voting Shares convert into 14.3 million Subordinate Voting Shares. President Georgiadis owns 760,000 subordinate voting shares directly and another 20,000 indirectly. He also owns more than 37K Super Voting shares directly and another 3K indirectly.
While it’s not clear why the CEO and chairman sold so much stock, they still have significant cash and remain in line with shareholders. I think it’s interesting to see what Ben Kovler bought, and that’s shares in another company he runs, RYTHM, Inc. His position is still smaller than the investment in GTI, but it is large. On September 25, he purchased 1,000 shares in the open market at $37.08. On September 19, he paid $39.99 for 1,000 shares. In November 2024, he bought 5,000 shares at $45.89. RYM closed yesterday at $23.83.
It is also interesting to contrast these sales with the purchases that GTI has made in its stock. In 2023, the company introduced a buyback plan and paid $9.96 for 2.5 million shares in September and then $11.14 for 1.34 million in December. In 2024, it bought 3.97 million shares at an average price of $10.85. Even this year, the company continued to buy back shares, paying just $4.34 for 5.72 million shares. In the 3rd quarter, the company did not make purchases, because these purchases were mostly in June. So sales are well below where the company bought GTBIF shares last year and the year before, but well above where they bought in June (5.46 million shares at $4.26).
It would be premature to conclude that Kovler and Georgiadis don’t like GTBIF because they still have a lot of exposure to the stock. Another large holder is AdvisorShares, which controls 23.22 million shares of MSOS as of 11/12.
MSOS has more exposure to other ETFs, and the sum of the three seems insane to me at 67.5%. Although it is quite large at 20%, GTBIF’s exposure is down from 36.4% at the end of the year. Stock exposure rose 5.3%, but MSOS saw its shares expand 44.4%. Kovler and the ETF are struggling on social media, but MSOS still owns a lot, with 11% of the subordinated voting shares and 9.3% of the shares on a fully diluted cash basis (which converts to other types of shares and includes RSUs and cash options).
Investors may be concerned about this large stake sale by two Green Thumb Industries executives, but I think the stock is relatively attractive to its peers and is heavily positioned in my model portfolio, the 420 Investor (9.4% compared to its 3.1% weighting in the Global Hemp Stock Index). MSOs currently make up 26.4% of the index, and my MSO exposure is 23.7%, slightly underweight. Here’s how MSOS and its top 6 holdings performed in 2025.
GTBIF is the only stock to decline this year and is down 38% since the end of 2023, just short of MSOS’s 38.4% decline. Looking at valuations, the stock looks very cheap at an enterprise value of just 5.4X forecast 2026 adjusted EBITDA. Most importantly, from my perspective, its balance sheet stands out compared to its peers with very low net debt. More importantly, it has positive tangible book value, which is quite large, while all of its peers have negative tangible equity. If the 280E ends up being scrapped, that would be good for the GTI. Of course, it will be more useful to his peers. The downside risk for GTI appears to be much lower than for other major MSOs.
Some readers may be wondering why Ben Kovler and Anthony Georgiadis are selling GTBIF, and so am I. I think a better question might be: Why is Ben Kovler so excited about RYTHM? The stock has been crushed by the federal government’s recent move to criminalize THC from hemp, which may play out in a year, but it’s not a big deal in my opinion. RYM’s valuation is very high when considering the fully diluted share count. The stock is now down slightly more year-to-date than GTBIF, down 17.8% year-to-date. In November, it decreased by 47.8%. I think RYTHM stock, which is in the Global Hemp Stock Index, remains expensive and risky.
Sincerely,
Alan:
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is what we published last week.
Follow Alan for real-time updates X.com:. Share and discover industry news with like-minded people on the largest group of cannabis investors and entrepreneurs LinkedIn:.
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Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as an online community founder 420 Investorthe first and still the largest due diligence platform focused on publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. time New Cannabis Ventureshe is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before turning his attention to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst with more than two decades of research and portfolio management experience. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 Looking for Alphawhere he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and frequent source Media including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan. Twitter: |: Facebook |: LinkedIn: |: El
You are reading this week’s edition of New Cannabis Ventures, a weekly magazine we have published since October 2015. The newsletter includes unique insight to help our readers stay ahead of the curve, as well as links to the most important news of the week. We no longer email them like we used to, but post this and all newsletters on our website here.
friends,
Just before Christmas, this newsletter discussed how Vireo Growth is getting pretty big. At the end of January I profiled how Vireo Growth is expanding its business. This week’s newsletters include six articles we’ve run since April 2, and Vireo Growth is central to two of them. Vireo Growth is big and getting bigger, but few people seem to care.
I’m not writing this to tell readers to care. In fact, while I used to include the company on my Focus List at 420 Investor, I no longer do. Earlier this month I wrote an article for my subscribers about why I keep looking at things but not including stocks in my Focus List. Here is the summary.
I watch VREOF because it is now one of the largest MSOs by revenue, but it continues to fall short of joining the Global Hemp Stock Index due to its low trading volumes. Average daily trading volume over the past month was 251,000 shares, which is about $100,000 in daily trading value. This is well below peers. Perhaps more importantly, the current price of $0.45, which is down 26.6% year-to-date, is significantly lower than the price of $0.625 for the last large cap in 2024. Not only are the investors not winning, but VREOF hsa distributed a lot of shares to the sellers and they are also under water.
Maybe Vireo Growth shares will reward their owners, or maybe it will continue to do so. I think hemp stock investors and debt holders should be asking why no one is thinking of this yet. Scotts Miracle-Gro, which has been public since 1992 and has a market cap of $3.6 billion, picked up much of VREOF’s stock when it spun off Hawthorne. The 213 million shares are “at an implied price of $0.60” per share, although VREOF hasn’t traded at $0.60 since January. When the divestiture was announced in late January, Vireo Growth closed at $0.5553.
So a large MSO that has reshuffled its management, is now in multiple markets, and has executed its plan to get bigger with several acquisitions, is still not responding to the cannabis investment community. I wish them the best.
Sincerely,
Alan:
New Cannabis Ventures publishes curated articles as well as exclusive news. Here is what we have published in the last 2 weeks.
Follow Alan for real-time updates X.com:. Share and discover industry news with like-minded people on the largest group of cannabis investors and entrepreneurs LinkedIn:.
Stay on top of the most important communications from public companies by watching what’s coming cannabis investor calendar.
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as an online community founder 420 Investorthe first and still the largest due diligence platform focused on publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. time New Cannabis Ventureshe is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before turning his attention to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst with more than two decades of research and portfolio management experience. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 Looking for Alphawhere he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and frequent source Media including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan. Twitter: |: Facebook |: LinkedIn: |: El
Vireo Growth Announces California Retail Joint Venture with Glass House Brands
MINNEAPOLIS and LONG BEACH, Calif., April 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vireo Growth Inc. (“Vireo”) (CSE: VREO; OTCQX: VREOF) and Glass House Brands Inc. (“Glass House”) (CBOE CA: GLAS.AU) (CBOE CA: GLAS.WT.U) (OTCQX: GLASF) (OTCQX: GHBWF) today announced a joint venture to build one of the largest and most strategically located cannabis retail platforms in California. Subject to regulatory and certain closing conditions, each company will contribute its California dispensary operations to the joint venture in exchange for a 50% ownership interest.
Vireo operates twelve dispensaries and home delivery from recently acquired Eaze, Inc. (“Eaze”). Glass House currently operates eleven retail locations in California. The combined network will be supported by a preferential supply agreement with Glass House, California’s largest producer of large-scale hemp. After five years, Vireo will have the option to acquire Glass House’s shares in the joint venture, and Glass House will have a reciprocal right.
Cory Azzalino, president of California-based Vireo, has been named CEO of the joint venture, where he will oversee operations and lead the platform’s retail acquisition and expansion strategy.
“California remains the world’s largest legal cannabis market, and this joint venture allows us to unlock its potential in a way that neither company can achieve alone,” said Kyle Kazan, Glass House co-founder, president and CEO. “Vireo brings exceptional retail access and delivery infrastructure through the Eaze platform, while Glass House leverages proven retail execution, low cost, scale manufacturing and deep brand equity. Together with Vireo, we have found ways to mitigate California’s challenging pricing dynamics and expand the value of our retail operations without increasing the value of our retail operations without the core objectives of Glass. new legal markets outside the state”.
“Glass House is an ideal partner to collaborate with to build the future of cannabis retail in California,” said John Mazarakis, CEO of Vireo. “Their manufacturing scale and brand strength, combined with Vireo’s retail depth and one of the industry’s leading technology-based delivery platforms, creates a joint venture that is greater than the sum of its parts;
The joint venture’s integrated delivery capabilities through the Eaze platform will expand distribution to areas with limited retail access, providing competitive pricing that supports the legal market.
I am proud to lead this platform and the opportunity it represents. Our combined retail and delivery network gives us the ability and resources to bring high-quality, affordable cannabis to consumers in California, including underserved communities, while pursuing disciplined growth that strengthens the legal market over the long term.
Cory Azalino
About Glass House Brands
Glass House is one of the fastest growing, vertically integrated cannabis companies in the US, focused on the California market and building leading, sustainable brands to serve consumers across all segments. Whether through its portfolio of brands that include Glass House Farms, PLUS Products, Allswell and Mama Sue Wellness, or its network of retail clinics across the state of California that includes The Farmacy, Natural Healing Center and The Pottery, Glass House is committed to its vision of excellence; For more information and company updates, visit www.glasshousebrands.com/ and https://ir.glasshousebrands.com/contact/email-alerts/.
About Vireo Growth Inc
Vireo was founded in 2014 as a leading medical cannabis company. Vireo is building a disciplined, strategically aligned and execution-focused platform in the industry. This strategy drives our intense local market focus while leveraging the strength of the national portfolio. We are committed to hiring industry leaders and deploying capital and talent where we believe it will deliver the most value. Vireo operates with a long-term mindset, an action bias, and an unwavering commitment to its customers, employees, shareholders, industry partners, and the communities it serves. For more information about Vireo, visit www.vireogrowth.com.
New Cannabis Ventures’ NCV Newswire aims to gather high-quality content and information about leading cannabis companies to help our readers filter through the noise and stay on top of the most important cannabis business news. The NCV Newswire is edited by an editor and is not, however, automated. Got a secret news tip? Get in touch.
Michigan Cannabis sales for March decreased compared to a year ago, as they increased sequentially by 8.9%. At 255.5 million dollars, sales decreased by 7.8 percent compared to the previous year.
The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency breaks down sales by medical and adult use, with medical sales down 36.8% year-over-year to $0.4 million, down 3.8% sequentially, and adult-use sales down 7.7% year-over-year to $255.5 million, up 8.9% sequentially.
The state breaks down sales by category and provides pricing details by category for both medical and adult;
For Adults – UseMedical
As supply continues to expand, adult flower prices have fallen sharply, although the decline is slowing. The average price of $987 per pound in March was up 3.0% sequentially from a record low in December and down 5.3% from a year ago.
Michigan hemp sales are expected to grow 82.1% to $1.79 billion in 2021, 27.9% to $2.29 billion in 2022, and 33.3% to $3.06 billion in 2023. billion In 2026, Michigan cannabis sales decreased by 7.8%.
Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as an online community founder 420 Investorthe first and still the largest due diligence platform focused on publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. time New Cannabis Ventureshe is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before turning his attention to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst with more than two decades of research and portfolio management experience. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 Looking for Alphawhere he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and frequent source Media including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan. Twitter: |: Facebook |: LinkedIn: |: El
Cory Azalino
