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 the rising investment services costs. The producer price index (PPI) data revealed that 20% of the July increase for intermediate services demand was due to a 3.2% jump in brokerage, investment advice, and other associated services. Cramer shared that it was possible that the costs increased due to rising asset prices and linked it with the higher inflation data and the outlook for interest rate cuts:
“Yeah, well I mean I think that’s the case, you can do that. At the same time, am I going to change my outlook because Blackrock is able to make a little more because they have more money under management? . . .I didn’t use to look through these things. I would just say, okay, that’s the data, the data’s better than my anecdote, I no longer feel that way. I think my anecdotal is more empirical than their’s is. And I think we’re discovering the flaws in the system, where many people are laid off, and the different divisions are not as accurate or as good as they used to be. I think that if we were to bring someone on here in pure candor, and say how did you get that freight number, how did you get that warehouse number, I think they would say I’m not really sure.”
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 August 14th.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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).
11. Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 61
Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) is an industrial technology company that makes and sells products such as lasers and transceivers. Its products provide it with exposure to the AI data center industry. The shares have lost 10% year-to-date, primarily on the back of a stunning 19.6% drop in August. Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)’s shares dropped after its fourth quarter earnings report raised concerns about the firm’s future growth prospects. Ahead of the earnings, the firm had announced that it would sell its laser business; a decision which made it guide fiscal first quarter revenue at a midpoint of $1.53 billion, which was below the analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Cramer failed to understand why Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)’s guidance missed the mark:
“[On revenue guidance] That was, beyond me. Because it was not your typical business that blew up.”
Fidelity Investments mentioned Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) in its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“The fund’s underperformance of the Russell benchmark came from both stock picking and industry selection, with our choices in industrials hurting most. Among individual stocks, a non-benchmark holding in Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) (-33%) was the biggest detractor. The company manufactures networking and laser equipment for the industrial and electronics markets. In early February, Coherent reported Q4 2024 financial results that exceeded expectations, but its forward guidance came in substantially weaker than anticipated. This caused the shares to fall in February and March. We reduced the stake, but the stock remained a top 10 overweight as of March 31.”
10. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 53
Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is an agricultural and construction equipment company. Cramer has discussed the firm several times on his morning show in 2025. Most of his remarks have revolved around Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)’s exposure to AI data center construction activity in the US and fresh legislation, both of which can act as tailwinds for the firm. The firm’s shares dipped by 6.8% in August after it narrowed its full-year outlook. Cramer discussed Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in the context of AgCo:
“I do think that Deere, I thought that might be a bounce back. Because we had AgCo on last night. And AgCo was being very, very positive. . .but AgCo’s not as US-centric. It is a mystery to me that Deere’s down this much given the fact that inventories don’t seem to be a problem. And given the fact that AgCo, its principle competitor, just is crushing it, crushing.
“Deere has lost you more money by listening to Deere than almost any company I know. I mean, I once wrote up that I thought that Deere, if. they could just for once be proud of themselves and happy, but no they can’t. And I may suggest that the CFO, there are a couple of things that could really help. Xanax, I would take two, maybe three, don’t go for the Klonopin you’ll fall asleep in the middle of the call.”
Here are the CNBC TV host’s previous comments about Deere & Company (NYSE:DE):
“In May of last year, I told you that Deere was finally taking control of its own destiny, even if that might… take some time to play out. And in retrospect, that was a good call… Funny thing about Deere, while the stock’s roared over the past 12 months, the company hasn’t been putting up particularly good numbers… But even though the numbers have been hideous in absolute terms, Deere’s results have consistently come in better than expected. How’s it possible? Simple. This company is hostage to the agriculture market, which means their business rise[s] and falls based on factors that they’ve got, let’s say, no control over…
More important, the stock’s been roaring because crop prices, interest rates, and the dollar have finally started going in the right direction, at least from Deere’s perspective… If rates are headed lower, that’s phenomenal for Deere’s business… Plus, there are all long-term reasons to like Deere that never really went away. This company is still the king of farm equipment with best-in-class technology…
… Deere is now selling for 27 times earnings. That’s somewhat higher for a machinery company, considerably higher than the S&P 500 PE multiple, but I think you can justify it given the tech angle. Plus, Deere’s a cyclical stock, and the cyclicals always seem expensive near the bottom. It looks pricey because the earnings are at a very low level. But if crop prices can bounce and interest rates come down, Deere will be able to report much better numbers.
So here’s the bottom line: After years of trading sideways, this stock’s finally had a major breakout over the past 10 odd months. Even though Deere and markets are still in pretty rough shape, but the stock’s working because the company always had great execution, and the agricultural equipment business is turning around. That’s why I think its rally, so far, can be justified and why I think it will continue to run.”