For the Executive Decision segment of his "Mad Money" program Monday, Jim Cramer sat down with Irwin Simon, chairman and interim CEO at Aphria Inc. (APHA) , a Canada-based marijuana producer.
Simon said Aphria is one of the largest cannabis producers in Canada, employing over 1,100 people. Aphria currently does no business in the U.S. and is focused on the medical and recreational markets. Cannabis is big business, Simon noted, and Aphria has 550,000 plants growing in multiple facilities that employ the latest in robotic processing.
When asked why he made the jump from 25 years in the food business to cannabis, Simon said he explored the many applications of cannabis while still at Hain Celestial (HAIN) , and with so many uses from recreational to medical, food, drinks and supplements, it's clear cannabis will be a big industry.
Let's take a look at the charts and indicators to see if this is the right time to buy Aphria.
In this daily bar chart of APHA, below, we can see some big swings in the past 12 months, but let's concentrate on the lows in December and more recently. After a decline from around $16 in September, buyers came in around the $6-$4 area in December. Trading volume was very heavy as some traders probably dumped long positions and others used the dip as an opportunity to buy. Prices managed to double with a rebound to around $10, and then we saw a four-month retreat back to the $5 area.
Aphria recently gapped to the upside on heavy volume, creating what might become a double bottom pattern. Prices closed above the declining 50-day moving average line. A close above $8 and a bit will put this stock above the declining 200-day line. The On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line shows a similar double bottom (fingers crossed) and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator is crossing to the upside for a cover shorts buy signal.
In this weekly bar chart of APHA, below, we can see that the $6-$4 area has been important resistance and now support going back to 2016. Prices are below the declining 40-week moving average line, but a weekly close above $8 will change that. The OBV line looks like it can turn up, and so does the MACD oscillator.
In this Point and Figure chart of APHA, below, we can see that a trade at $7.70 will be positive and a price target of $11 is projected.
Bottom line strategy: Experienced traders who are disciplined could consider going long APHA at current levels risking below $4. Targets are $11 and then $14.
