Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, on Friday discussed how to deal with brutal selloffs, more specifically, how to protect yourself from them and how to use them to your advantage.
“I want to help you game out the other, less dangerous kind of crash, the mechanical kind caused by a broken market in a healthy economy.”
READ ALSO: 14 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar and Jim Cramer Commented on These 17 Stocks.
Cramer said the best way to approach these abrupt drops is to recognize that there is often a bottoming process involved, one that investors can learn to spot. As to what investors should do when they see this type of market behavior, Cramer noted that one of his favorite strategies is to look for what he calls “accidental high yielders.”
“Those are stocks of companies that are doing fine, have good balance sheets, that’s very important, by the way, but their share prices have fallen so low that their dividends are starting to give you an unbelievable return, that’s right, good yield.”
He said that one way to find these accidental high yielders is to compare a stock’s historical dividend yield with what it is paying now, and also take into account the current yield on the 10-year Treasury. If a stock that usually yields 2% suddenly yields 4% because of a broad market drop, and the company itself is still in good shape, that may be a sign that one is looking at one of these opportunities.
“Second, if field level isn’t giving you opportunities, I’d use a mechanical sell-off to pick some stocks that you like. You can begin buying them using what’s known as wide scales… Pick one of your best stocks out there, premier stock, and buy some using limit orders only.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of over 40 stocks that Jim Cramer commented on during episodes of Mad Money aired between June 9 and June 11. We narrowed the list to 10 stocks that were most favored by analysts. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their average analyst price target upside as of June 16. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q1 database of 1,000 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Stocks Jim Cramer and Analysts Are Watching
10. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
Average Upside Potential: 14.01%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 10, Redburn Atlantic analyst Chris Luyckx double downgraded the stock from Buy to Sell and lowered the price target to $260 from $319.
The firm believes weight-loss drugs like GLP-1 could hurt demand over time and sees this risk as not fully priced in. It warns that even a small hit to sales now could grow much larger, especially for chains that rely more on lower-income customers. Redburn expects lasting shifts in dining habits that go beyond individual users.
On June 9, Cramer discussed the recent analyst reports covering McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD). He commented:
“It amazes me that analysts refuse to learn from their mistakes that some stocks should not be taken off the buy list. Today, Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock of McDonald’s, saying it’s arguably too expensive and that it will probably not be insulated from some structural pressures on fast food. Now, with the stock at 25 times earnings, consensus estimate’s too high. Morgan Stanley moved [it] to Equal Weight or Hold. [The] stock dropped $2 and 58 cents or 0.84% on that.
Now, it would not have made much of an impact on me if McDonald’s hadn’t also been downgraded by Loop Capital on Friday, again, concerned that it won’t beat the consensus numbers. Look, I understand the downgrades. Stock’s up 5%. It’s holding its own, but I think that in the long run, it has never paid to downgrade Mickey D’s. It’s the king. It offers good value and it’s incredibly well run…
The main thing Loop cites for what they think will be a shortfall is negative reaction to the new chicken strips launch… I say, wait a second, this is McDonald’s. Do you think this company is stupid? Do you think that CEO Chris Kempczinski doesn’t pay attention to these things? Do you think he ignores the franchises? Do you think he doesn’t know the product’s ugly? Do you think that he’ll bet everything on a product that people don’t like?
Listen, McDonald’s is an amazing company. It didn’t become amazing because it stuck with bad ideas… The strength of McDonald’s is that they don’t fight battles they can’t win. When something doesn’t work, they just dump it and they move on. Which is why I say you downgrade a stock like McDonald’s at your own peril.”
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) operates and franchises restaurants under its brand, and it provides a range of food and beverages such as burgers, chicken items, fries, desserts, and breakfast options. The company runs its business through different franchise models.
9. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Average Upside Potential: 14.56%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 9, Citi increased its price target on the company stock to $285 from $276 and maintained a Buy rating.
Citi believes that the company delivered mixed results, showing strong performance in AI but weaker margins due to product mix and rising options costs. The firm noted the margin outlook was lowered because of a greater semiconductor mix, as the company projects 60% annual AI growth in fiscal 2025 and 2026 from broader adoption. On the same day, Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley also raised the price target on Broadcom to $265 from $215 and maintained an Overweight rating.
On June 9, Cramer discussed Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) in detail and said:
“There’s nothing more frustrating than watching one of your favorite companies report a strong quarter only to see the market find some reason to send the stock lower, but in retrospect, these can be great buying opportunities. Just look at what happened to Broadcom last week… long-time Cramer fave, big holding in my Charitable Trust. But the stock sold off hard after the company reported on Thursday night…
Putting it all together, though, I think the main problem is that Broadcom stock had run up so dramatically from the April lows. Think about this trajectory. The stock bottomed at $138 in April. It was at nearly $260 before it reported last week. Under those circumstances, anything less than perfection was going to be punished. And while the quarter was very good, it certainly wasn’t perfect, which is why, despite the post-earnings sell-off, I still like the stock and think you may be getting a terrific buying opportunity here…. I think the bears are missing some even more important positives for the quarter, outside of just the headline numbers.
For starters, Broadcom’s AI revenues came in at $4.4 billion. That’s an increase of 46% from the previous year and up from the already impressive $4.1 billion just last quarter. While that was merely in line with expectations, it underscores that the company’s seeing the most enticing part of its business inflecting. I like this. This strength is coming from both parts of their AI business….. AI chip sales are expected to get to be $5.1 billion this quarter, and that’s up another $700 million sequentially, mind-boggling, $300 million more than the analysts were looking for.
That’s something. This would represent 60% growth for AI chips year-over-year. That’s amazing. This, you see, this is why it’s so hard for me to justify the pullback in Broadcom stock. They’re selling a stock that’s guided for AI semiconductor sales to come in $300 million higher than expected because they’re worried about the slow growth non-AI part of the business. That’s nuts…
… Broadcom paid out $2.8 billion in dividends last quarter, and on top of that… they spent $4.2 billion to repurchase 25.3 million of their own shares… Always good to see the company buying its stock right alongside. Here’s the bottom line: Contrary to the market’s reaction, there was plenty to like about Broadcom’s quarter, and the stock only sold off because some investors were expecting an insane blowout. Honestly, I’m more positive in Broadcom than I was before the report. And the fact that you can buy the stock at a discount here, I think it’s a steal.”
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) develops and supplies a wide range of semiconductor devices and software solutions used in networking, broadband, wireless communication, data centers, smartphones, and industrial systems. The company’s technology supports applications across AI infrastructure, telecommunications, home connectivity, and enterprise computing.
8. The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)
Average Upside Potential: 14.56%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 11, Stifel analyst Matthew Smith cut the price target on the stock from $120 to $106 and maintained a Hold rating.
The firm noted that while the company posted a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter, its FY26 outlook suggests an 11% drop in EPS, which came in about 13% below the firm’s forecast. The analyst lowered the FY26 EPS estimate by $ 1.43 to $8.95, mainly due to weaker performance in Coffee and Sweet Baked Goods. On the same day, several other firms, including Stifel, Barclays, and BofA, revised their price targets downward on J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) stock.
On June 10, Cramer discussed The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) and said:
“But let’s look at the other way. Let’s talk about what old folks were interested in. There’s a company called J.M. Smucker. It makes coffee jams and pet food, Uncrustables, Twinkies. It’s covered by 15 different firms… It’s real. We’ve all bought their stuff. Two years ago, right at the time that the GLP-1 drugs came of age and we went nuts for the weight loss shots, J.M. Smucker didn’t seem to notice. They ran into the fire, they bought Hostess, that’s right, Hostess, maker of Twinkies, for $5.6 billion in November of 2023. Today, they took a $980 million impairment charge for that transaction. I doubt that’ll be the last one, as Twinkies and Ho Hos may not turn very well. Let’s just say they’re going nowhere. They also took a big hit from tariffs and higher coffee costs. Smucker’s talking about a 20% boost in coffee prices. That’s not going to help demand. In the wake of the news, the stock plunged more than 15%. Nearly every analyst who covers it had tough things to say about the business, all major firms.”
The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) produces and sells a wide range of branded food and beverage products, including coffee, snacks, spreads, pet food, baked goods, and frozen items.
7. The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)
Average Upside Potential: 16.11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 2, JPMorgan raised the price target on the stock to $145 from $130 and maintained an Overweight rating. In the second half of May, the company’s price target was also raised by Loop Capital, Baird, and Morgan Stanley. After meeting with management, JPMorgan’s Matthew Boss noted that the company reaffirmed its outlook for 3%-4% same-store sales growth and 3% store expansion each year.
On June 9, while discussing “terrific” names in retail, Cramer mentioned The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) and said:
“And look, this is not isolated to tech. In retail, we had terrific names that reported great quarters, Costco and TJX, but then they failed to go up. Wow. They went down… It’s all rotation from companies that are excellent to ones with stocks that got too cheap. We’ll be safe if the market returns to Costco and TJX.”
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is a retailer that sells discounted apparel, home goods, and a variety of other merchandise through both physical stores and online platforms. The company’s offerings include clothing, footwear, accessories, furniture, décor, kitchenware, and seasonal items.
6. The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)
Average Upside Potential: 18.19%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 13, Citi analyst Patrick Cunningham downgraded the company stock to Neutral from Buy and lowered the price target to $385 from $405 due to weak housing conditions due to high mortgage rates, and delayed Fed rate cuts.
The firm is pessimistic about U.S. housing and does not see any strong signs of a rebound in the second half of the year. However, the firm showed optimism around the company’s long-term growth story, but does not believe that the risk/reward is currently attractive and suggested waiting for a better time to buy Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW).
During the episode aired on June 11, Cramer recommended another stock instead of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW), as he said:
“Sherwin-Williams, okay, Dow stock now, by the way. I think Sherwin-Williams, look, I like the stock of Home Depot. Home Depot, which is, by the way, less expensive… I think some people are selling it because ICE is lining up in front of Home Depot, and I think the stock’s getting hit because of that.”
Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) develops, manufactures, and sells paints, coatings, and related products for a wide range of customers, including professionals and retailers.
5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Average Upside Potential: 18.47%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 159
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. After the initial keynote at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), several analysts covered the stock. On June 10, Citi maintained a Buy rating and a $240 price target on the stock and sees the event as a strong setup for next year.
The firm highlighted the unified “liquid glass” design, progress on Vision Pro, the iPad’s shift toward a Mac experience, and better integration of iPhone apps on Mac. Citi also pointed to Apple Intelligence being built into apps across devices. Despite this, the firm said investor attention remains on the delayed personalized Siri update now expected in 2026.
Cramer made the following comments on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on June 9:
“Hey, finally there’s a stock that people now love to downgrade… I’m talking about Apple. I expect to hear some downgrades tomorrow because of today’s supposedly ho-hum Worldwide Developers Conference… But what the critics seemed to be missing constantly is that the only question I heard was upgrade or not. Did you hear switch? I didn’t hear switch. As long as I didn’t hear switch, I’m going to hold the stock…
First, Apple’s in a dry spell. It doesn’t have anything new that the people want, but it has plenty of optionality… What it should do, it should just go acquire Perplexity. I know they don’t like acquisitions…. I wish they’d buy it… Perplexity is my favorite, and they definitely can afford it. Second, right now, Apple’s staring down two guns, one a ruling that declared Google a monopolist that may end its largesse toward Apple, like the $20 billion check it wrote to them in 2022 to be the default search engine. It’s also on the verge of losing a key case involving Epic, the gaming company, that would let them get around the 30% chunk that Apple takes from every transaction in the App Store. I think Apple could lose one. Probably won’t lose both…
Finally, let’s understand something. Apple is not a company that stands still… Can we stipulate that in the last year, it’s reasonable to believe that Tim Cook, the CEO, might have been a little distracted? Here’s a man… who’s been trying to do everything he’s supposed to do in order to meet the demands of the president of the United States. The president wanted investment in the U.S. What does he do? He announces that Apple’s going to spend $500 billion in the US over four years…
President then made it clear he didn’t want Apple to make as much product as it did in China. So unbelievably and in almost no time… Cook moved a huge amount of iPhone production to India. Then Trump says that India’s not the right place. The phones have to be made here. I mean, come on… But the bottom line: As long as nobody switches to Android, call me sanguine about Apple. Not more than that, not certainly less than that. Sanguine doesn’t mean buy, but it sure doesn’t mean sell…”
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) creates and sells smartphones, computers, tablets, wearables, and related accessories. The company provides services like cloud storage, customer support, digital content platforms, and several kinds of subscription options.
4. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)
Average Upside Potential: 21.54%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. Citi cut its price target on the stock from $140 to $115 but kept a Buy rating on June 11.
The stock has dropped to its lowest level in four years compared to the U.S. energy index, which has reversed the gains from its major acquisitions. The firm views this decline as a chance to invest in a company that can stay strong and stand out, while OPEC’s latest approach challenges others. Citi continues to see strong upside in the shares.
During the June 9 episode, Cramer recommended to “sell” ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and buy another, as he said:
“I like your idea. I like your idea. I like your idea. I think Lily’s at a great level, and Conoco is not nearly as all the oils go to like 4 or 5% yield, this is only three and a half. I want you to sell the Conoco and buy the Lilly. I like that idea.”
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is involved in the exploration, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, LNG, and related products. The company’s operations span both unconventional and conventional assets, including global LNG projects, oil sands, and a broad range of exploration prospects.
3. eToro Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ETOR)
Average Upside Potential: 23.48%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
eToro Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ETOR) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 9, Deutsche Bank and BofA initiated coverage on the company stock with a $70 and $71 price target, respectively.
Deutsche Bank sees strong long-term growth potential driven by the company’s unique social trading platform. However, the firm also pointed to risks from increasing competition and possible shifts in adoption trends. At 25.7 times projected 2026 earnings, the valuation reflects a balanced view of upside and downside.
BofA pointed toward full valuation after strong recent performance. The firm sees room for growth if U.S. crypto policy under the Trump administration shifts in eToro’s (NASDAQ:ETOR) favor. However, the firm also pointed to regulatory and macro risks, and highlighted concerns about limited transparency around growth metrics, client outcomes, execution quality, and the sustainability of its contract for difference mix.
On June 10, Cramer provided a detailed analysis of eToro Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ETOR). Here is what he had to say about the company:
“Alright, about a month later… another really popular trading platform, this one’s called eToro, debuted on the Nasdaq with a traditional IPO, and the market lapped it up… So, how do these three brokerages, the platforms, stack up against each other? First, let’s take scale because scale is often what dictates what’s going to win in a brokerage area. At the end of the first quarter… eToro had just 3.58 million funded accounts with 14.8 billion in assets under administration… Webull and eToro are roughly the same size… Now, what about the financials? We just want to look at revenue growth and some measures of profitability. But comparing the three companies… is surprisingly challenging because they all use different key metrics… But for eToro, we have to use the company’s net contribution, which is similar to the net revenue numbers from the other two… eToro has slower growth but much better profitability than Webull…
And for eToro, what we see is a big improvement in the financial results last year, especially on the profitability front, which makes sense as the company has said outright that it’s changed the strategy after its failed deal to come public a few years ago. In the first quarter of this year, though revenue growth slowed significantly and the company’s profitability even regressed…
Now this, eToro, the obvious number two, profitability is nearly as good as Robinhood’s, even if the growth is slower… So Robin and eToro are the only two I’d even consider. Robin has a better business, but eToro has a much cheaper stock, selling for 27 times this year’s earnings estimates, basically half of Robinhood’s valuation of 55 times earnings… On the other hand, eToro got pulverized today after it reported what I thought was a good quarter, in part because the stock had already run up dramatically from where it came public.”
eToro Group (NASDAQ:ETOR) operates a multi-asset trading platform that provides access to equities, crypto, commodities, currencies, and options, both as assets and derivatives. The company also runs a membership program, an education hub, and a money management service, and offers tools for analysis, charting, and extended-hours trading.
2. Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS)
Average Upside Potential: 27.38%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 16, DA Davidson raised its price target on the stock from $50 to $55 and maintained a Buy rating.
The analyst said Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI is shifting the competitive landscape and creating room for other players. DA Davidson believes Toloka (Nebius’ crowdsourcing and generative AI services provider platform) is well-positioned to gain a significant share in the environment.
On June 10, Cramer said that he was “impressed” by Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS) at the Nvidia GTC conference, as he commented:
“Okay, I went to their booth when I was out at the conference, the Nvidia GTC conference. I was very impressed. I think they do good things. I didn’t, wasn’t prepared to be impressed frankly, because I like CoreWeave. But let me just tell you how I feel about this Nebius, this stock has… it has an allure. People like it so much. It doesn’t have a lot of people writing about it. It’s very hard for it to disappoint. I’m actually going to say that I think Nebius is going higher. There we go.”
Nebius (NASDAQ:NBIS) develops full-stack infrastructure tailored for AI as it provides cloud platforms, large-scale GPU clusters, and developer tools. The company’s businesses span AI data solutions, tech-focused education, and autonomous driving technologies.
1. GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB)
Average Upside Potential: 44.13%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) is one of the 10 stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 12, Canaccord cut the stock’s price target on the company from $78 to $76 while maintaining a Buy rating.
The firm noted that the company delivered solid Q1 results, with revenue growing 27% and stronger-than-expected profits driven by 12% operating margins, marking a 1,440 basis point improvement from last year. Canaccord sees growing momentum in AI-driven code development as a sign of ongoing investment in DevSecOps platforms and considers GitLab (NASDAQ:GTLB) a leading player in this space.
On June 11, Cramer showed bearish sentiment toward GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) and the broader enterprise software industry, as he said:
“Yeah, I thought that GitLab, frankly, I was prepared for disappointment, and I got it. This kind of collaborative software, enterprise software stock, I don’t want right now… You know, I like an Oracle, which is going up, but that’s data center. I don’t want, I just do not want enterprise software. I think they’re all too expensive.”
GitLab (NASDAQ:GTLB) provides a platform that helps organizations plan, build, secure, and launch software. The company supports every step of the development process and also offers training and support services.
While we acknowledge the potential of GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GTLB and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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