Better Marijuana Stock: Tilray vs. Village Farms

There's been something of a role reversal for Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) and Village Farms International (NASDAQ: VFF). In 2018, Tilray emerged as the best-performing Canadian marijuana stock on the market, with shares skyrocketing 215%. Village Farms, on the other hand, saw its stock plunge 27%.

But so far this year, the tables have been turned. Tilray is down 29% year to date. Meanwhile, Village Farms is one of the top Canadian marijuana stocks with a sizzling gain of 289%.

Does the swing in momentum point to a brighter future for Village Farms? Or is Tilray the better long-term pick? Here's how the two Canadian marijuana stocks compare.

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for Tilray

Tilray doesn't have the greatest production capacity in the cannabis industry. It doesn't have the highest sales. But there's one area where Tilray arguably beats every other Canadian marijuana producer: its impressive lineup of major partners.

Let's start with Novartis. In 2018, Tilray teamed up with the big pharma company's Sandoz Canada subsidiary to market medical cannabis products. That collaboration expanded later in the year to a global one. Novartis is a well-known brand across the world and could be a nice plus in convincing healthcare providers in Europe to go with Tilray's medical cannabis products.

Then there's the beverages market. No, Tilray hasn't received a huge investment like Canopy Growth did from major alcoholic beverage maker Constellation Brands. However, Tilray has joined forces with big beer maker Anheuser-Busch InBev to research nonalcoholic cannabis-infused beverages.

Tilray has the consumer brands box checked, too. Earlier this year, the company announced a deal with Authentic Brands Group (ABG) to distribute cannabis-infused products for consumers. ABG markets 50 brands, including Nautica, Nine West, Prince, and Spyder.

In addition to its key partnerships, Tilray has also been busy on the acquisitions front. In February, the company closed its buyout of Manitoba Harvest, the world's largest hemp foods manufacturer. That acquisition enabled Tilray to jump headfirst into the U.S. hemp market.

With these major partners and an important acquisition under its belt, Tilray is poised to grow significantly as the global cannabis market expands. 

The case for Village Farms

It wasn't all that long ago that Village Farms was known only for its greenhouse cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. But a pivotal deal in 2017 with marijuana producer Emerald Health Therapeutics changed the dynamics for Village Farms. The two companies formed a joint venture, Pure Sunfarms, with plans to convert a greenhouse owned by Village Farms into a cannabis production facility.

A lot of progress has been made since then. Village Farms shares soared in April on the news that the entire growing area at the British Columbia greenhouse now operated by Pure Sunfarms was in production. This greenhouse should soon reach an annualized production run rate of around 75,000 kilograms and will be joined in the future by a sister facility that will double the joint venture's annual production.

Pure Sunfarms has already lined up one important supply agreement for adult-use recreational marijuana in Canada. In February, the Ontario Cannabis Store selected Pure Sunfarms as a supplier. Ontario is the biggest market in the country.