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Under-The-Radar Marijuana Stocks & News from GM, LEN, AMD | Free Lunch

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On today’s episode of Free Lunch, Associate Stock Strategist Ryan McQueeney discusses the Dow’s record open and Jerome Powell’s latest comments on the economy. He also recaps trending stories like the GM-Honda autonomous partnership, Lennar’s earnings, and AMD’s recent volatility. Later, Ryan highlights two under-the-radar marijuana stocks.

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Free Lunch is the newest show from Zacks Investment Research. It is streamed live, four times per week, and features breaking news and analysis from Zacks strategists. Free Lunch is available on YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitter, Ustream, and more.

U.S. stocks gained during Wednesday morning. Notably, the Dow opened at an all-time high as Wall Street reacted favorably to positive signs in European markets and encouraging comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell.

The economic tension in Italy appears to be easing, with reports now suggesting that the nation’s new populist government will reduce budget deficit targets to more manageable levels. On the domestic front, Jerome Powell said in an interview Tuesday that U.S. economic outlook remains positive due to “historically rare” unemployment and inflation conditions.

Elsewhere, General Motors (GM - Free Report) and Honda (HMC - Free Report) announced an interesting new partnership wherein Honda will invest in Cruise Holdings, GM’s self-driving car unit. The Japanese auto giant will take an immediate 5.7% stake in Cruise through a $750 million investment in Cruise, and it plans to pour about $2.8 billion into the autonomous project over the course of 12 years.

On the earnings front, homebuilding giant Lennar (LEN - Free Report) this morning Lennar posted adjusted profits of $1.40 per share which topped the consensus mark by 21 cents. Total revenues of $5.67 billion were on par with the consensus mark but increased 74% year over year, a bump that underscores the company’s acquisition of CalAtlantic but also the underlying strength of the housing market.

Finally, Wall Street was buzzing about AMD (AMD - Free Report) again this morning as the chipmaker has now dropped about 15% since its closing price last Thursday. The pullback stems from an understandable combination of analyst caution, profit taking, and renewed activity from Intel (INTC - Free Report) , but it marks a rare period of sluggishness in what has been a strong year for AMD.

On the first half of today’s Free Lunch, Ryan McQueeney discusses all of these stories. Make sure to check out the segment for all of the key facts as well as Ryan’s perspective on the headlines!

But make sure to stick around for the second half of the show, where Ryan highlights two “under-the-radar” marijuana stocks: Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG - Free Report) and Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR - Free Report) .

Ryan suggests that while investors grow more fascinated with Canadian producers, they might miss out on interesting plays like SMG and IIPR.

For instance, Scotts likely has much more exposure to marijuana than one would think. Its hydroponics division, Hawthorne, accounted for 11% of revenue in 2017 and just completed a key acquisition to grow the business. Hydroponics is often used to grow marijuana indoors.

Likewise, IIPR, a REIT focused on investing in medical cannabis spaces, might be misunderstood by the masses. As Ryan argues, this company is not just a pot pure play; it is a legitimately well-structured REIT with low debt and solid capital plans.

Make sure to check out the show to hear more!

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