Should You Buy GW Pharmaceuticals Before They Report Earnings?

GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) has had a disappointing few months.  The company is expected to report its Q3 earnings results on November 3 and investors want to know if they can expect a rebound in shares of this medicinal cannabis company.

In August, GWPH plummeted after releasing its Q2 previous earnings results.  GWPH actually beat analysts’ expectations in both earnings and revenue, but investors didn’t like that the company reported a loss of $8.8 million, for the quarter, after income of $79.7 million in the year-earlier period.

Despite the stock’s performance over the past few months, there’s a lot to like in the company. GWPH isn’t your normal cannabis stock, it's actually a biotech company with a business model on cannabinoid-based drug development.

Its key drug is the cannabidiol (CBD)-based Epidiolex, which is approved to treat two rare forms of childhood-onset epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis complex. This drug is the primary growth driver for the company. Sales have been skyrocketing and are forecast to increase by more than 50%.

The company was also in the news today as its subsidiary, Greenwich Biosciences, Inc., announced the launch of unspoken symphony, a web-based, image-recognition technology that gives individuals with epilepsy who struggle to express themselves verbally a new way to communicate and connect like never before by translating artwork into a melody.

GWPH’s CEO, Justin Gover, provided guidance for the coming quarters saying, “We were pleased with the strength of the U.S. Epidiolex sales in the second quarter in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Further, the recent approval and imminent launch of Epidiolex for the treatment of seizures associated with TSC provides a meaningful new opportunity to accelerate momentum through the second half of 2020 and beyond.” 

In addition, he stated, “We also continue to be excited about the potential of our product pipeline, in particular nabiximols, for which we recently outlined our accelerated US development strategy in the treatment of spasticity in patients with MS and other conditions. We look forward to commencing the nabiximols Phase 3 program as well as multiple other pipeline clinical trials in the second half of the year.”

Analysts are also favorable on the stock as it has an average rating of "Buy" from, according to Marketbeat. Ten analysts have a “Buy” rating, and three have a “Hold” rating. The average price target for the stock is $185.08, which is about 90% higher than its current price of $97.

Like the analysts, I remain bullish on GWPH.  I believe that it's inevitable the company will become profitable, due to the company’s revenue growth opportunities for Epidiolex and the products in their pipeline, like nabiximols.

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GWPH shares were trading at $96.83 per share on Wednesday afternoon, up $0.48 (+0.50%). Year-to-date, GWPH has declined -7.39%, versus a 8.17% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

Aaron is an experienced investor who is also the CEO of Departures Capital. His primary focus is on the cannabis industry. He also hosts a weekly show on YouTube about marijuana stocks. Learn more about Aaron’s background, along with links to his most recent articles.

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