A deal with one of the world’s largest alcohol brands has GMP Securites analyst Martin Landry feeling bullish about Canopy Growth Corp. (Canopy Growth Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSX:WEED).

This morning, Canopy announced it had entered into a deal with alcohol giant Constellation Brands that will see the latter invest $245-million in the former by buying shares at $12.98 that have a full warrant attached. The pair will collaborate on cannabis-based beverages.

“In Constellation we have a strategic ally that will join us as we lead the global cannabis sector into the future,” said Canopy CEO Bruce Linton. “We have also strengthened our balance sheet to fund the ambitious expansion efforts we have planned heading into 2018 – a year that will see unprecedented growth in medical and adult-use opportunities.”

Landry says there could be a domino effect as a result of this news.

“(Constellation) is the first large beer/alcohol company to invest in a meaningful way in the cannabis industry,” the analyst says. This investment signals an interest from large global players in the cannabis industry and confirms that cannabis is a potential threat to alcohol companies. We expect that other companies (beer, tobacco or pharmaceutical) will follow-suit.

The analyst thinks this development separtes Canopy from its peers.

“Today’s announcement catapults WEED in a league of its own,” Landry says. “The company now has significant financing to accomplish its aggressive expansion plans. It also has a credible partner in which it can draw resources to accelerate its go to market strategy for the recreational market in Canada. Both of these increase the company’s first mover advantage and supports our expectation that the company will capture a leading share of the Canadian recreational market.”

In a research update to clients today, Landry maintained his “Buy” rating, but raised his one-year price target on Canopy Grwoth Corp. from $15.00 to $17.00, implying a return of 32.9 per cent at the time of publication.

Landry thinks Canopy will generate EBITDA of negative $8.4-million on revenue of $83.5-million in fiscal 2018. He expects those numbers will improve to EBITDA of $43.7-million on a topline of $336.2-million the following year.