It’s official. Tobacco/cigarette company Altria is investing in Canadian cannabis firm Cronos Group. Altria will buy a 45% stake in the company at $1.8 billion, and would have the option to raise its stake to 55%. Even before Friday’s announcement from Altria, there were reports of Altria possibly eyeing Cronos.
"Investing in Cronos Group as our exclusive partner in the emerging global cannabis category represents an exciting new growth opportunity for Altria," said Howard Willard, Altria's CEO, in a statement.
Cigarette smoking is reportedly thinning out probably due to increased health-consciousness among consumers – something that might be an additional reason behind Altria's decision to diversify into the recreational marijuana space.
Altria also announced plans to stop producing its MarkTen and Green Smoke e-cigarettes and its Verve oral nicotine, citing regulatory concerns and financial performance of the brands.
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for MO turned positive on August 21, 2026. Looking at past instances where MO's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 28 of 46 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 61%.
The RSI Indicator points to a transition from a downward trend to an upward trend -- in cases where MO's RSI Oscillator exited the oversold zone, 13 of 23 resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 57%.
The Stochastic Oscillator suggests the stock price trend may be in a reversal from a downward trend to an upward trend. 32 of 55 cases where MO's Stochastic Oscillator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 58%.
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on September 11, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on MO as a result. In 46 of 80 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 57%.
Following a +1.61% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where MO advanced for three days, in 216 of 387 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 56%.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where MO declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 37%.
The Aroon Indicator for MO entered a downward trend on August 26, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 7 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 67, placing this stock better than average.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 8 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating very strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 21 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is slightly undervalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (0.000) is normal, around the industry mean (19.382). P/E Ratio (14.522) is within average values for comparable stocks, (23.474). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (2.643) is also within normal values, averaging (3.758). Dividend Yield (0.062) settles around the average of (0.048) among similar stocks. MO's P/S Ratio (5.653) is slightly higher than the industry average of (2.805).
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 29 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 47 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. MO’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
a holding company which produces and markets tobacco products
Industry Tobacco