Stock-research firm Jefferies launched coverage of the cannabis business Monday with a note from analyst Owen Bennett, who initiated ratings on nine companies while estimating that the legal-weed industry will reach $50 billion in annual sales over the next decade vs. just $17 billion this year.

Bennett also said a "realistic" bullish case could see the industry enjoy as much as $130 billion in sales by 2029 thanks to pot's disruptive nature.

"We see a base-case conservative industry size of over $50 billion by 2029 and a realistic upside size of $130 billion on wider industry disruption," he wrote. "Global winners to be those that lead in both medical and recreational and have a strong U.S. position. Fears on commoditization are overdone. Expect to see further consolidation, more [mainstream consumer-goods companies] taking positions and near-term focus shifting to performance vs. headlines/capacity expectations."

Of the nine companies that Bennett initiated, he gave "Buy" ratings to five, "Hold" Ratings to two and "Underperform" ratings to two others, as follows:

Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB) - ) - Get Report Bennett gave ACB a "Buy" rating, with a C$12 price target.

CannTrust Holdings Inc. CNTTF) CannTrust was given a "Buy" rating and a C$15 price target.

Canopy Growth Corp. CGC) - ) - Get Report CGC was given a "Hold" rating, with a C$64 price target.

Cronos Group Inc. CRON) - ) - Get Report CRON was rated "Underperform," receiving a C$17 price target.

Emerald Health Therapeutics EMHTF) The Jefferies analyst gave Emerald a "Hold" rating, with a C$4.30 price target.

Flowr Corp. FLWPF) This stock received a "Buy" rating, with a C$5.70 price target.

Green Organic Dutchman TGODF) The analyst rated this stock as a "Buy," with a C$6.10 price target.

Hexo Corp. HEXO) - ) - Get Report Bennett listed Hexo as "Underperform," giving it a C$5.60 price target.