Aphria (APHA) announced the appointment of Brett D. Marchand as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain effective February 11, 2019. Previously, Mr. Marchand was Vice President of Supply Chain and Logistics Canada at The Northwest Company where he was responsible for overseeing a supply network that supported 140 remote access retail grocery and general merchandise stores across Canada’s North.
“I am pleased to welcome Brett, a distinguished veteran and highly accomplished leader, into the Aphria family,” said Jakob Ripshtein, President of Aphria. “Brett’s tenure in similar roles across a broad scale of growth-focused companies has led to an impressive record of optimizing corporate operational strategies and maximizing profitability. With the addition of leaders like Brett, Aphria continues to build bench strength that will propel the Company’s growth as the cannabis industry evolves.”
Mr. Marchand carries a wealth of global experience across a broad base of industry sectors including transportation, oil and gas, dairy and the public sector. He began his career by joining the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a Military Transportation Officer serving in both Canada and Germany. Upon retirement from the CAF, Mr. Marchand held leadership roles at Manitoulin Transport, The International Group, Maple Leaf Foods, and Lactalis American Group. He brings more than 35 years of strategic supply chain experience to his role at Aphria where he will be responsible for leading supply chain operations including demand forecasting, supply planning and inventory control.
“Having grown up in South Western Ontario, I welcome the opportunity to return to the Leamington area, while working in a rapidly evolving and exciting industry, said Mr. Marchand. “I look forward to helping shape Aphria’s future through supply chain excellence and empowering the Company’s continued growth as a leading global cannabis company.”
Shares of Aphria are currently trading at $9.51, down $0.06 or -0.63%. APHA has a 1-year high of $16.86 and a 1-year low of $3.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $7.07 and its 200-day moving average is $9.90.
On the ratings front, Aphria has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. In a report issued on February 1, Cormark analyst Jesse Pytlak reiterated a Buy rating on APHA, with a price target of $15, which implies an upside of 57% from current levels. Separately, on January 24, Haywood Securities’ Neal Gilmer reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $13 price target.
According to TipRanks, which ranks over 7,500 financial analysts and bloggers to gauge the performance of their past recommendations, Jesse Pytlak and Neal Gilmer have a yearly average loss of -0.7% and a return of 0.4% respectively. Pytlak has a success rate of 44% and is ranked #3387 out of 5141 analysts, while Gilmer has a success rate of 25% and is ranked #3172.
All in all, Wall Street loves Aphria. With an average price target of $11.67, analysts are predicting nearly 23% upside for the stock. In total, Micron stock has received 5 ‘buy’ ratings vs. just 2 ‘hold’ rating in the last three months. (See APHA’s price targets and analyst ratings on TipRanks) 
