In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed OpenAI’s valuation after media reports suggested that the firm was trying to raise $100 billion in capital at a valuation of $830 billion. OpenAI has become one of the most valuable startups in the world in the era of AI. However, the $830 billion figure came weeks after other media reports had suggested that the AI company was raising capital at a $500 billion valuation.
The debate surrounding OpenAI’s valuation blends into the deeper debate about AI spending. The year’s tail end has seen volatility in the share of data center infrastructure providers Oracle and CoreWeave. While the two stocks are up by 17% and 100% this year, over the past six months, they have shed 5.7% and 54%, respectively. Media reports have suggested that data center construction woes and funding constraints have driven the share prices.
Commenting on OpenAI, Cramer wondered where the reports about its valuation were coming from. He also outlined a split in sentiment for the firm, with some sectors believing that its products were a commodity while others held the opinion that they were proprietary. Tying the two into the broader discussion about valuation, the CNBC TV host remarked:
“Well look, this is rather an amazing elevation of valuation because, they were 500 billion on Monday, they got to 750 billion on Wednesday, and then last night they got to 830 billion. This has been one of the greatest weeks of all time. I would love to have that week. David, now come on, that is the week to end all weeks, right? That’s like four two point conversions.”
“. . .There are people who think that this is not a commodity, that it’s proprietary. Then there are other people who think that these are commodities and that therefore, they have to take the money very quickly. I don’t a soul who thinks that they’re just a joker. But I do think that the way this has been disseminated, does seem like, that I’d to hear, who is telling them, these various press outlets. They’re never gonna tell me and you’re never gonna know, but to say it’s 500 on Monday and 830 last night. . .”
Our Methodology
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired on December 19th. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the third quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 978 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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
10. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 89
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is a stock that Jim Cramer frequently discusses. The firm reported its second fiscal quarter earnings on December 18th. The results saw NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s $12.43 billion in revenue and $0.53 in earnings beat analyst estimates of $12.22 billion and $0.38. However, media reports suggested that a 17% drop in Chinese revenue contributed to a post-earnings share price drop.
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s ongoing turnaround is a key factor for debate, and following the earnings, multiple analysts shared their take on the firm. For instance, UBS cut the share price target to $62 from $71 on December 19th and kept a Neutral rating. The bank explained that while NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) should return to growth eventually, the firm needs more time to adjust its inventory. Joining UBS, BofA also cut the share price target. It reduced NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s target price to $73 from $84 and cited Chinese concerns as the reason. Stifel trimmed the target by $3 to $68 and kept a Hold as it commented on the third quarter guidance miss.
As for Cramer, he focused on China but kept the faith with NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) and shared additional insight in the form of the ongoing debate in the Supreme Court about President Trump’s tariffs:
“China was quite difficult for them, because they were so trashed. They trashed themselves, they were in the wrong outlets, they’ve got bad inventory. One of the things that Elliott said that was devastating was this reality, we’ve become a lifestyle brand. I mean that is the kiss of death. They’re not a lifestyle brand, they’re a sports brand. Matter of fact, they changed a lot of things in America. They changed it from, having a man, woman, child brand to having, verticals to sports.
“Okay I’m going to say something that people are not going to like. Got to buy the stock. . .two reasons, one, if you think, that the supremes are going against the President, 70, like that. Okay. In tariff. Now I’m not talking Kalshi, I don’t want to go to Kalshi, because I’m investment. So I want to own the stock. . .I’d rather own the stock than bet on the supremes. . .but, second, Elliott Hill is a different kind of CEO. He came in and he recognized, Carl, there were so many things wrong. And he fixed North America. North America’s really good, but then he goes on and on about how poorly he’s doing in China, to lower expectations. They are doing poorly in China in every single thing they’ve tried, they’ve tried to discount that, it didn’t work. They tried full price, that didn’t work. But he’s going to go over there. And Elliott Hill’s going to fix it. And we’re all going to say, why didn’t we buy it at 56, 57. Now I am not doing the Jefferies back up the truck, because previously he had said, just buy it, credibility issue. But I do say that, you know what, those who sell it down here, I think they’re gonna look back and say, first when the Supreme Court, when Gorsuch says listen we don’t like the tariffs, you’re going to say why didn’t I buy at 70, and then why China turns, you’re gonna say why didn’t I buy it at 80? So, yes, I’m a believer in Elliott, totally, and I think he ran a great call. It was a self effacing call. . .
“. . .I am saying that the turn is real, he will do it. . .you either believe in Elliott Hill or you don’t. Okay. You’re betting on Elliott Hill, and he came in, when I saw him last, he said I’m gonna turn US. . . and this quarter US had turned. Now, he’s set his sights on China and people can sit there and say you know what, he’s gonna screw up China or you can say he’s a winner. I’m going with the winner attitude. . .”
9. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 60
FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) is another key US firm in the middle of a turnaround. As is with the turnarounds of Nike and Starbucks, Cramer is also a believer in the firm. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) recently posted its earnings report for the fiscal second quarter on December 18th. The results saw the firm’s $23.5 billion in revenue and $4.82 in earnings per share beat analyst estimates of $22.8 billion and $4.12. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)’s earnings meant that Cramer, who had predicted ahead of the results that they would be a “blowout,” was proven correct. After the earnings, BMO Capital raised the share price target to $290 from $265 and kept a Market Perform rating. Since Cramer’s comments on December 19th, shared below, FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)’s shares are 2.2% higher:
“Again, people don’t know what they’re selling. This was a quarter, I was interviewing Raj, Raj Subramanian the CEO. . .and I know Raj is a hitter. So Raj comes out and he goes, look, one of the things that did well was business-to-business. I scrapped the whole interview and pivoted to business-to-business because I’ve been waiting for that. That’s where the money is. Healthcare, the healthcare vertical, they owned that. They are doing amazing things to get parts to data centers, that’s only nine billion, healthcare could be 40 billion. They are having a, they had a very good Black Friday, then they trailed off but it’s come back. The people who are selling this stock, are betting against a guy, who is literally taking so many costs out. He’s splitting off the freight, which is bad. What are you selling it for?. . .what do you want to go into?
“. . .business-to-business is really sticky, business-to-consumer is fickle. There he went with business-to-business, if Raj is making that turn, it’s amazing. . .but I do think that what’s happening at FedEx, is he is not only gotten so far as to be able to fix a lot of the costs which is what he’s working on, but now he’s playing offense with business-to-business, and people don’t understand, B2B versus B2C. B2B is where the money is. . . .you want to be B2B. . .”
8. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 166
Cramer has remained an ardent defender of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) regardless of the share price performance. The CNBC TV host sticks to his mantra of ‘own it, don’t trade it’ when it comes to the stock. Recently, his optimism has also been met by Wall Street analysts. For instance, investment bank Morgan Stanley raised Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price target to $315 from $305 on December 17th and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. Morgan Stanley explained that the reason behind the price target bump was an increased fiscal year 2027 earnings estimate to $9.83 from $9.55. It added that rising prices for memory chips could reduce Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s margins. On the same day, Jefferies raised the price target to $283.36 from $246.99 and kept a Hold rating on the shares. As per Jefferies, when it comes to memory chip prices, the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) charges premium prices can help it buffer against possible impacts to the gross margins. As Cramer praised FedEx for moving into the business-to-consumer segment, he added that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was an example of a firm that had excelled in the consumer space:
“They’re the only one I’ve ever seen that does it [maintain high satisfaction], that’s because no one really seems to understand that Tim has built an amazing product. They don’t understand it.”
7. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 76
2025 has been an important year for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) after the Federal Reserve finally removed its asset cap on the firm in June. Year-to-date, the stock is up by 34.5%. Since then, the bank has seen several analysts share their opinions about it. For instance, on November 12th, Truist reiterated a Buy rating on Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s shares after the bank’s fiscal third-quarter earnings report. The results saw the bank report $21.44 billion in revenue and $1.73 in earnings per share. Both of these metrics beat analyst estimates. Truist’s latest action on Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s shares came on December 18th, when it maintained a Buy rating and increased the share price target to $100 from $90. The price target bump came after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods had also increased the target to $101 from $92 on December 17th and reiterated a Market Perform rating. Cramer is also quite optimistic about Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) as are the analysts:
“Something we talked about earlier this week, there’s a change in Wells Fargo. This was a bank that we said, they’re around the table, the kitchen table. Now they’re around the table, the deal table. David, you have said over and over again, [inaudible] seeing the names of the people who work at Wells, and they’re not Wells people. They’re from everywhere. A lot of these people are people I think weren’t able to become CEO at their companies because the CEO himself wouldn’t retire.
“David, one thing I would point out, Charlie Scharf, many people know, is just one of the nicest people. And he’s a regular person, and that’s attractive to the people who are leaving the master of the universe firm. To go to someone who just says let’s get it done. . .I’ve had one shouting match with Charlie, I feel badly about it, I want to take it back Charlie, I apologize, because I said why aren’t you buying more stock back? And he said, we’re buying back plenty. Well the fact is, they bought back so much. They bought back everything they could. . .”
6. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 75
Banking giant The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s shares are up by 56.8% year-to-date. The bank has benefited from lower interest rates and a growth in markets activity in 2025. As an example, on December 1st, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) bought exchange-traded fund (ETF) company Innovator Capital Management for a $2 billion price tag as part of its bid to expand the asset management business. The December deal came after The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) had bought Industry Ventures, a venture capital platform, for $1 billion. An avenue where the bank is benefiting from a growth in markets activity is its deal with Electronics Arts (EA) for the latter’s $55 billion take-private deal. The agreement with EA will see The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) pocket $110 million in fees. Cramer has regularly discussed the stock in 2025 and remarked that it “may be growing faster than almost all the stocks in tech, let alone the Magnificent Seven.” In this appearance, he shared that his charitable trust also owns The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS):
“I have Goldman too, in my charitable trust. . .I was voted the most. . .identifiable person who worked at Goldman Sachs.”
5. Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 69
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) is one of the largest cruise ship companies in America. Its shares are up by 26% year-to-date, notably on the back of a 25% surge since early December. The tail end of the month has seen several analysts set their sights on the firm. For instance, TD Cowen reduced its share price target to $35 from $37 and kept a Buy rating on the shares on December 17th. The financial firm cut the price target due to pricing pressures. On December 22nd, Mizuho bumped its share price target for Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) to $38 from $37 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. Mizuho cited the firm’s latest earnings report as being the reason behind the optimism. The earnings saw Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL)’s revenue of $6.3 billion and earnings per share of $0.34 beat analyst estimates. The firm’s full-year guidance of $2.48 also beat estimates of $2.44. Cramer discussed the cruise ship company after its earnings on Mad Money and commented that the stock was a “bargain.” In this appearance, he mentioned Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL)’s CEO Josh Weinstein as well:
“Look at those Carnival numbers today, that’s discretionary money, discretionary.
“. . and you’ve got a treat with Josh. I think that Josh is going to make the case that this is, you know this is still a value, it’s a bargain. . .there’s so many rooms, and people know that, if you go on a Carnival cruise, it’s not expensive.”
4. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 107
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s shares are up by a slight 2% year-to-date. The firm made quite a bit of a splash on December 11th after a Reuters report claimed that it was investing $1 billion into OpenAI. In mid-November, Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and a $152 price target for the firm. The bank outlined that it viewed the dip in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s share price at the time as an opportunity to buy the stock. Goldman added that it held the opinion due to the firm reiterating double-digit earnings per share growth for its fiscal year 2026 and 2027. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s shares had dipped by 7% after the firm’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings report. The firm reported $22.46 billion in revenue and $1.11 in adjusted earnings per share in the quarter, which presented a mixed picture. While The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s earnings beat the analyst estimates of $1.05, its revenue missed the estimates of $22.75 billion. Cramer discussed the firm after the earnings and called the share price movement an “overreaction.” Cramer added that the firm’s experiences business was one of its greatest assets, and in this appearance, he focused specifically on the cruise ship business:
“Disney’s got good cruises.”
3. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 47
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) factored into the discussion after Cramer discussed Carnival Corporation’s earnings report. In mid-December, Jefferies lowered the firm’s share price target to $275 from $286 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The upgrade came after Wells Fargo had initiated coverage on December 1st and set a $320 share price target. The bank explained that it believes Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) benefits from a strong return on invested capital, earnings growth, and yield. For the ROIC, Wells Fargo believes that the cruise company can cross the 20% threshold, particularly due to operating parameters such as cost controls and operating algorithms. Cramer has discussed Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) several times in 2025 as well. For instance, on November 17th, he commented that the firm might have “come down too much.” Earlier, he remarked that the cruise ship sector appeared to have “lost its luster.” In this appearance, he commented that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) appeared to not be as great as peer firm Carnival Cruise or Disney’s cruise business:
“Royal’s not been as good.”
2. Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 51
Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK) is the final cruise ship stock Cramer discussed during this appearance. On December 15th, Jefferies upgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and increased the share price target to $80 from $60. The bank commented that Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK)’s business model and its focus on luxury cruise travel merited the optimism. These should also improve the firm’s net yield, commented the firm. Jefferies’ action followed Goldman Sachs upgrading Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK)’s shares to Buy from Neutral and raising the share price target to $78 from $66 on December 9th. As part of the coverage, Goldman outlined that the firm’s geographic exposure and focus on the luxury travel industry had enabled it to navigate through the headwinds faced by the broader cruise ship industry. Cramer agrees with the positive assessment of Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK):
“The one that you want to be in, just so you know, and they come on and they’re not jokers, is Viking. Viking cruises are for a little bit wealthier. . but look at that stock, someone put up the chart of Viking Holdings, this is one of the best companies that I’ve dealt with in a long time. And I think that the people who run it, 59% up this year, incredible.”
1. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 120
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s shares are up by 28% year-to-date and by 39% since September 10th. December has seen several analysts focus on the firm. On the 19th, Deutsche Bank raised Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price target to $500 from $470 and reiterated a Buy rating. The bank pointed out that while it expects weak delivery figures for the fourth quarter, the overall narrative for robotaxi was robust. On the same day, Truist also raised its share price target for Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). It set the new price target at $444, up from an earlier $406, and kept a Hold rating. Like Deutsche, Truist pointed out that the firm’s autonomy initiatives and the robotaxi will play a key role in its valuation. However, an interesting share by Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) on November 13th outlined the firm’s plans to use its Megapack batteries to power data centers. The release provided exposure to the firm when it came to the AI data center buildout in the US. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) outlined that AI model training runs that used GPUs could fluctuate by as much as 90% and the Megapacks would help with it. The announcement hasn’t gone unnoticed by Jim Cramer’s radar either, as the CNBC TV host commented:
“Yes, and then you’re going to be hearing more about batteries soon. You’re going to hear about batteries that can actually help power the data center issue.”
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