2017 has been a great year for cannabis investors and expect 2018 to be even more significant.

From Germany distributing medical marijuana licenses to Canada’s recreational marijuana market opening, there is a lot for investors to look forward to.

Yesterday, the cannabis sector was under pressure while the overall market traded higher and we are monitoring how the sector moves today. Canadian licensed producers pulled back and momentum has been trending lower since late November.

We have highlighted 3 significant developments that investors need to be aware of. From a Goldman Sachs (GS) upgrade to a surprising CEO change, we are monitoring the cannabis sector closely today.

GW Pharma: Receives a Major Boost from Goldman Sachs

GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) received a major boost for Goldman Sachs and we expect to see the biotech firm to rally on this development.

This morning, Goldman upgraded GW from Hold to Buy and increased its price target to $174 from $124. This is a significant upgrade and expect to see GW rally on this news. Goldman Sachs is one of the most highly followed broker-dealers and has one of the top equity research teams in the world.

When Goldman Sachs speaks, investors listen and we expect GW to record a solid gain today. We are bullish on GW’s long-term outlook due to its pipeline of cannabinoid therapies in advanced stages of FDA testing, its cash position, and its growth opportunity. We consider GW to be an acquisition candidate and are favorable at current levels.

MassRoots: Announces a New Board and CEO

Isaac Dietrich is back in control of MassRoots (MSRT).

This development follows a very volatile and confusing two months where Dietrich was removed as the company’s CEO.

Effective December 12th, Ean Seeb, Vincent (Tripp) Keber, and Terence Fitch resigned as members of MassRoots’ Board of Directors. Cecil Kyte, Nathan Shelton and Charles Blum were appointed to fill these openings on the company’s Board.

MassRoots has taken shareholders on a bumpy ride and we continue to monitor this situation. We have taken a more cautious approach with the cannabis technology company and will keep the stock on our radar. We are interested on seeing what happens with the previously announced initiatives now that Dietrich is back at the helm.

Canadian Cannabis Stocks Continue to Shine

Although the Canadian cannabis sector was under pressure yesterday, we remain favorable on the long-term outlook and view this weakness as transitory. Canadian licensed producers have recorded significant gains over the last quarter and pullbacks of this nature are healthy for a long-term rally. Momentum has been trending lower and we are monitoring this metric closely. Once momentum finds a bottom, we expect to see the sector enter another growth cycle which will beneficial for investors.

Over the last month, inorganic growth initiatives (i.e. acquisitions) have taken center stage and we expect this trend to significantly accelerate during the next year. We are monitoring CanniMed’s (CMED.TO) (CMMDF) attempt to fend off an acquisition by Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) (ACBFF) and expect this deal to go through. If the deal is shot down by the courts, we would not be surprised if Aurora targeted a new company for acquisition.

Yesterday, Aphria (APH.TO) (APHQF) announced a $100 million bought deal financing and we expect to see the licensed medical marijuana producers use these proceeds to make acquisitions in Canada and abroad (we expect them to target Germany).

Canopy Growth (WEED.TO) (TWMJF) has also been expanding through acquisitions and has used its stock as a currency. We are favorable on this approach since the company will retain its cash for growth initiatives.

We remain bullish on Canadian licensed producers and consider the following companies to be acquisition targets: Emblem (EMC.V) (EMMBF), Organigram (OGI.V) (OGMRF), Emerald Health (EMH.V) (EMHTF), Invictus MD Strategies (IMH.V) (IVITF), and Supreme Pharmaceuticals (FIRE.V) (SPRWF).