In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed OpenAI’s ChatGPT and business applications. After CFO Sarah Friar commented that business applications represented a large chunk of the firm’s revenue, Cramer commented that OpenAI knew “the way to do a narrative. Because business-to-business as Dario [Anthropic CEO] said on air, is sticky and profitable and business-to-consumer is sticky and fickle and who knows what.”
The CNBC TV host then pointed out how the AI landscape was rapidly evolving. Mentioning Elon Musk’s xAI’s Grok, he commented:
“I’m saying that the consumer is alive and well and uses ChatGPT and ChatGPT is good but they do have a lot of business applications, obviously, some advertising. But yesterday, this is how hard it is. . .Yesterday I get a call saying, hey, do you like the new Grok. I said new Grok? Said oh Grok, you can put things in that you wouldn’t believe that’s come out, it’s much better, you don’t know the new Grok? This is this world, I had put Grok into my second, into my you know, second file. I am bringing back Grok today for a little bit more vox populi, what people think about so and so. . .”
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 January 22nd and tweeted about. 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).
14. Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 33
Pharmaceutical firm Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)’s shares are up by 44% over the past year and by 7.6% year-to-date. The tail end of 2025 saw several analysts discuss the firm. For instance, Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to Overweight and increased the share price target to CHF110 from CHF108. The bank pointed out that Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)’s shares had suffered excessively after the firm’s third-quarter earnings, and the selloff was driven by legacy products. Consequently, the troubles with the older products had been fully reflected in the stock. TD Cowen discussed the firm in November as it reiterated a Hold rating and a $140 share price target. According to the financial firm, some of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)’s growth projections might be a bit too optimistic. Cramer has also discussed the firm over the past few months. According to him, while the pharmaceutical company’s weight loss pill marks a key early mover advantage, medical professionals will be hesitant to advise patients to switch over to it. In a recent tweet, he focused on the firm’s cancer drug Pluvicto. Cramer has focused on cancer treatments from Johnson & Johnson and has been optimistic about the firm because of them. Consequently, it was unsurprising that he remarked: “Pluvicto strong– Novartis very strong buy.”
13. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 234
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a regular stock on Jim Cramer’s radar. The CNBC TV host is one of the stock’s biggest proponents. As January kicked off, Citi reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and kept a $270 share price target. The bank commented that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) had surprised it during meetings held at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. CES was a packed event as the firm announced its Rubin chips. More recently, Cramer was impressed by a discussion between NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang and Eli Lilly’s David Ricks, where the two discussed extending the human lifespan. Cramer defended the stock on X on the 26th when he commented that he was “not oblivious to the fact that the stock does not ‘act’ well but Nvidia, the company, is doing extremely well and i remain steadfast that you should own not trade the stock.” Cramer added that:
“Understand when i say “sloppy” about Nvidia, i mean the stock. I did think it would go higher today… until i heard endless chatter about circular deals, which I think is Nonsense.”
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) also expanded its relationship with CoreWeave yesterday after it invested $2 billion in the firm as part of an AI Factory, or an AI data center, buildout acceleration deal. While the shares closed 0.64% lower, Cramer commented:
“If you go back over what Jensen said this morning he confirmed strong demand, he made it clear that the Coreweave relationship is about cementing a relationship that can help many companies that otherwise may not have access to Nvidia chips.”
12. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 93
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is an American semiconductor manufacturing equipment provider. Its shares are up by 194% over the past year and by 20% year-to-date. Goldman Sachs started the year on a strong note for Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX). As per The Fly, the bank raised the firm’s share price target to $180 from $160 and kept a Buy rating on the stock. Several factors that are driving the semiconductor industry’s narrative in 2026, such as higher demand for memory and AI chips, influenced Goldman’s decision. Like Goldman Sachs, Mizuho also raised Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s share price target. It bumped the target to $220 from $200 and kept an Outperform rating on the stock. AI, memory, and optical chip demand drove Mizuho’s optimism. In his recent comments about Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX), Cramer discussed the need to expand production as he remarked that the firm had to “put up plants.” In this appearance, he discussed the demand that the firm is experiencing:
“Okay, so, here’s the ones that have a shortage that can’t be met. . . .Lam Research . . .being semiconductor capital equipment. Those stocks are up . . .this is from the year began. Lam 33[%].”
11. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 89
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing equipment providers in the world. Its shares are up by 83% over the past year and by 18.8% year-to-date. Keybanc hiked the firm’s share price target to $380 from $285 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares in mid-January. The financial firm pointed out that even though Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s shares had lagged in performance when compared to their peers, the performance was justified since the equipment manufacturer was exposed to older chip manufacturing processes. Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and raised the share price target to $390 from $275 in January. The bank pointed out that Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), like other firms in its sector, can benefit from the growth in the wafer manufacturing equipment industry. RBC Capital also recently discussed the firm as it set an Outperform rating and a $385 share price target. As for Cramer, he discussed the sizable demand that Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is experiencing:
“Okay, so, here’s the ones that have a shortage that can’t be met. . . Applied Materials. . .being semiconductor capital equipment. Those stocks are up . . .this is from the year began. . .Applied Material 26. . .”
10. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 61
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) makes and sells equipment used in the chip manufacturing process. Its shares are up by 119% over the past year and by 21% year-to-date. Morgan Stanley increased the stock’s rating to Overweight from Equalweight and the share price target to $1,697 from $1,214 in January. The bank commented that KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) could grow its revenue by double-digit percentages over the next couple of years. Bernstein also initiated coverage on the stock in January, as it set a $1,700 share price target and an Overweight rating. The financial firm, like Morgan Stanley, also mentioned KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s potential for a double-digit revenue growth rate for the next couple of years. One factor that Bernstein’s coverage focused on was a lower exposure to China replacement risks. Cramer mentioned KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the context of strong demand and share price performance:
“Okay, so, here’s the ones that have a shortage that can’t be met. . . .KLA. . .being semiconductor capital equipment. Those stocks are up. . .this is from the year began. . .KLA 25.”
9. ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 104
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that provides enterprise workflow management software products. Its shares are down 40% over the year and 7.5% year-to-date. Cramer has discussed ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) regularly over the past couple of months. The CNBC TV host believes the stock’s woes are part of the broader struggles that the enterprise software sector is facing due to the disruption ushered in by AI. Bernstein recently discussed ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) as it reiterated an Outperform rating and a $219 share price target. The financial firm commented that the software company remained as one of the safest stocks in the sector despite the weak share price performance. Along with Bernstein, RBC Capital also discussed ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in January and remarked that the software company could benefit from a recent partnership with OpenAI. In this episode, Cramer discussed ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in the context of the difference in performance between hardware and software technology stocks:
“Now get the opp verse, okay, this is the losers, this is the software, enterprise software, Salesforce down 16, ServiceNow down 18, Adobe down 15, Workday down 14. . .Atlassian down 24, Hubspot down 25.
“David, I don’t know what to do with ServiceNow, I don’t know what to do with Adobe, with Workday.”
8. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 88
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a productivity software company whose shares are down by 30% over the past year and by 8.6% year-to-date. The weak share price performance has been accompanied by analyst pessimism as well. For instance, Jefferies cut the share price target to $400 from $500 and reduced the rating to Hold from Buy as it commented that the software company was experiencing difficulty in its lower-end market. Oppenheimer also cut the rating of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)’s shares. It lowered it to Market Perform from Outperform and outlined that the software application sector was in for a tough reckoning in 2026. Cramer has also commented on the impact of AI on Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) over the past couple of months. He believes that a shift in the traditional seat model and competition by Apple are some factors that are creating headwinds. In this appearance, the CNBC TV host flat-out gave up on how to analyze Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE):
“Now get the opp verse, okay, this is the losers, this is the software, enterprise software, Salesforce down 16, ServiceNow down 18, Adobe down 15, Workday down 14. . .Atlassian down 24, Hubspot down 25.
“David, I don’t know what to do with ServiceNow, I don’t know what to do with Adobe, with Workday.
“Now that’s because there just not as many seats, they have what’s called a seat model. So therefore they can’t bill as many or do they raise price too much and there’s now pushback or is Claude so superhuman that it really can do what Adobe does.”
7. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 312
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a key player in the AI software industry and one of the largest technology companies in the world. The shares are up by a modest 8.2% over the past year and are flat year-to-date. Mizuho reduced the firm’s share price target to $620 from $640 and kept an Outperform rating earlier this month, according to The Fly. The reduction came as part of broader coverage of the software sector in this earnings season, with Mizuho pointing towards AI-led disruption as one cause for worry. Citi also cut Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price target in January. It reduced the target to $660 from $690 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The bank discussed its partner and channel checks to comment that while Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Azure business remained strong, weakness in the PC market was affecting its other businesses. Cramer acknowledged the weakness, discussed AI, and expressed confidence in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s management:
“David, I don’t know what to do with ServiceNow, I don’t know what to do with Adobe, with Workday. And yesterday it happened for the first time, Microsoft, it can be beaten by Anthropic, I don’t believe that but that’s why that stock was down so much.
“We have to see Amazon stop going down, we have to see some love for Meta which has really been terrible. And if Microsoft doesn’t turn, I don’t know what to say. . .it’s incredible, because remember David, when Copilot came out, and we were all so excited and thought that they had things under control. Do you want to bet against Microsoft and Azure right here? You want to bet against Amy Hood and you want to bet against Satya Nadella. . .?”
6. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 119
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is an enterprise software company that provides customer relationship management software products and services. The shares are down by 33% over the past year and by 9.6% year-to-date. Barclays discussed Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share in January as it raised the share price target to $338 from $330 and kept an Overweight rating, according to The Fly. Among the reasons that the financial firm shared for its confidence was spending confidence in the software industry. Goldman Sachs commenced coverage in January. It set a $330 share price target and a Buy rating on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s shares. The investment bank remarked that the software company could benefit from the tailwinds generated by AI adoption. However, Cramer discussed Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the context of a sector that is hampered by weak performance. The CNBC TV host also pointed to the split in the firm’s AI and non-AI business:
“Now get the opp verse, okay, this is the losers, this is the software, enterprise software, Salesforce down 16. . .
“Now, by the way, Marc Benioff, would tell you, Jim, I don’t even, how could you say that, life support, have you seen our Agentforce? And Agentforce is doing well and Slack is doing well. But it’s the other parts that maybe [inaudible]. I’ve used Salesforce twice, I had 30% lift and now people tell me it costs so much money you would never do it.”
5. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 68
Pharma giant Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s shares are down 15.9% over the past year and 12% year-to-date. The stock was dealt a hefty blow in January after the firm reported its fiscal fourth quarter earnings. The results saw Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) post $11.46 billion in revenue and $1.50 in profit per share. The revenue missed analyst estimates of $11.80 billion, while the profit met the estimates. Additionally, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s first-quarter profit guidance of $1.12 and $1.18 missed analyst estimates of $1.20. Following the earnings, Evercore ISI cut the firm’s share price target to $138 from $144 and kept an Outperform rating. In its coverage, the financial firm noted that while Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s had missed its quarterly estimates, the firm’s long-term picture nevertheless remained robust. Cramer, like Evercore, also kept an upbeat tone about the stock:
“This is a high-quality company. One of the greatest known for a very long time. Diagnostics they’re great, nutrition, medical devices. They did come through with what I regard as being, they don’t want to regard penicillin as a shortfall. I don’t to blame them because it’s very tough in terms of their growth. But did say, they’re not gonna make the numbers next quarter. And David, what bothers me, nutrition’s been weak, but it’s diagnostics, Abbott is the world’s best diagnostic company. So they’re not going to be able to do their number, it’s not clear exactly why, I don’t like that. They are the, the Exact Sciences. . .deal is on track. But this is the one, that I think, it’s really the only big cap pharma drug that’s disappointed. And I’m trying to figure out whether this is a buying opportunity, I think Robert Ford does a good job. . .”
Parnassus Value Equity Fund also discussed Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stands out for its durable growth potential driven by steady demand in areas like diabetes care, heart health and electrophysiology, all supported by ongoing innovation and new product launches. We also believe Abbott’s diversified business model, global reach and leadership positions in key markets can provide resilient returns for long-term investors.”
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 219
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is a stock that Jim Cramer has consistently discussed over the past couple of months. During this time period, his opinion about the firm has shifted from being wary due to troubles with the Justice Department to becoming enthusiastic about its multiple businesses, such as YouTube, Gemini, and Search. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s shares are up by 73% over the year and by 5.8% year-to-date. In January, Keybanc raised the firm’s share price target to $360 from $330 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. AI played a key role in the financial firm’s coverage as it pointed out that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has the computing capacity and scale to excel in the industry. Like Keybanc, Cramer is also enamored by the AI software:
“No Alphabet’s extraordinary, Alphabet, I mean Gemini again this weekend, better than it was previously. I capitulated and bought some Alphabet. We have a meeting today at noon and we bought Alphabet after selling it. We did that, because, David, they’re the punitive winner. And think about it, Apple didn’t get any money from them, apparently, for them to become the defacto Siri. Now you could say they got lucky anyway, Apple didn’t have to spend the money. But David, the transformation. . .it’s the transformation of Alphabet from definitive loser to how did that happen?
“How about. . .their Amazon Web Services competitor, it’s growing like a weed. The NFL deal, put together by a man who didn’t even know NFL, who’s such a genius. . .they’re just, talk about lucky and good. And by the way, Ruth Porat, she’s in there doing something we don’t know. . .this is going to be bigger than NVIDIA within the next two months.”
Bristlemoon Global Fund discussed Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“In our September 2025 quarterly letter we explained why we had taken positions in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and ASML. We highlighted how ASML is a monopoly in the semiconductor industry during an AI boom. Our writeup outlined the bear case arguments and explained our reasoning for why they were misguided. Other investors began to agree with our investment thesis, sending the stock from around €600 per share to north of €900 per share in the span of a quarter. Alphabet, where investor sentiment around AI had become unduly pessimistic, has also since delivered solid performance and contributed meaningfully to the Fund’s returns.”
3. GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 102
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) is one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. Its shares are up by 51% over the past year and down by 8% year-to-date. The firm has been at the center of attention by multiple analysts after it reported its fiscal fourth quarter earnings report. For instance, JPMorgan raised GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)’s share price target to $335 from $325 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The banking giant remained confident about the aerospace company’s CFM56 high-bypass turbofan engine and its ability to deliver growth over the next couple of years. After the earnings, RBC Capital kept an Outperform rating and a $355 share price target for GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE). The shares had dipped by 7.4% following the earnings report, and the financial firm commented that the fall appeared to be a buying opportunity. Like RBC, Cramer also believes there’s more to GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)’s shares than the recent drop:
“Jeez, I don’t know, I think the market’s wrong. The market is taking what GE Aerospace is saying and buying Boeing with it. I like every bit, by the way, labor, no longer a problem. They no longer have a materials problem, the defense department looks really good. They’ve got great after market business, I want to take the other side. I think the market’s wrong. It’s okay. Sometimes the market is wrong, the market is wrong, Larry Culp did a great job. I’m not backing on that, Culp did a great job.”
Bristol Gate US Equity Strategy had discussed GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter after the firm’s second quarter earnings report:
“GE Aerospace’s (NYSE:GE) performance was primarily helped by excellent results reported in July which saw key metrics like orders, revenue, operating profit and earnings per share all show more than 20% growth. Commercial Engines & Services segment saw a 29% surge in services revenue and a 45% increase in total commercial engine units, reflecting robust demand for spare parts and maintenance services. EPS and revenue both topped analysts’ consensus estimates. The company raised full-year guidance for 2025 and its long term financial outlook on the back of a significant backlog and improving supply chain trends which have previously hampered services and new engine deliveries.”
2. Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 76
Industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)’s shares are up by 4% over the past year and by 12.9% year-to-date. Most attention on the firm is due to its ongoing spinoff execution. For instance, JPMorgan upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral in January and increased the share price target to $255 from 218. The bank cited Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)’s order momentum and backlog as the reasons behind the optimism and suggested that the opacity surrounding its earnings due to the spinoff could create opportunities for investors. However, earlier in the month, Mizuho had trimmed Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)’s share price target to $240 from $250 and kept an Outperform rating. The financial firm adjusted the target due to its broader coverage of the industrial sector. Cramer discussed the spinoff and Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)’s quantum computing business:
“Well we have Honeywell for the trust and Honeywell did something I was hoping for. They have a thing called Quintinuum, yes, they have a quantum business, 53%, they’ve filed an S-1 to bring it public. And ever since then, it’s been to the moon Alice.”
1. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 87
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world. Its shares are down by more than 11% over the past year and are up by 5.4% year-to-date. In mid-January, investment bank UBS cut the firm’s share price target to $161 from $176 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The financial firm commented that while The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) could benefit from an improved market environment in late 2026, market conditions for consumer staples stocks remained challenged. However, Barclays hiked the share price target in January. It hiked the target to $155 from $151 and kept an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Barclays remarked that The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) could suffer from oil and currency pressures and added that enthusiasm around the stock appeared to be driven by investors seeking the safety of defensive stocks. Cramer discussed The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s earnings, which saw the firm report $22.21 billion in revenue, which was below analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. As part of the release, the firm’s CEO commented that it expected to maintain its profit and sales guidance. Here is what Cramer said about The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG):
“Okay so let’s go over Proctor, this is a big charitable trust name. . .they preannounced, preannounced, preannounced, preannounced. There was no way that they could do the quarter. They said over and over again, we’re gonna miss, we’re gonna miss, we’re gonna miss. Everything was a miss other than healthcare! But! In this market, when you say, we stink, we’re going to be a bad, new CEO, you can’t wait for the number to come out. The stock was in deep down three, when it came out. I was laughing at these people. Did they not know that this was the most preannounced preannouncement that we’ve seen? David, you want to get your stock up? Preannounce how horrible you’re doing and then be horrible. But stick by your guidance, stick by your guidance.”
While we acknowledge the potential of PG to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 PG and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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