On Wednesday, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, said that after a strong run in the market, investors need to become more selective.
“When the market flies like it’s been doing, at least until today, you need to be selective. You have to get more choosy because you don’t want to start your buying near the highs, and that is often a license to lose money… I want to show you how a professional comes up with ideas in a tape that’s roaring and does so without taking on too much risk that we have a quick downturn while attempting to get the maximum reward. You know that sometimes stock picking is all about not coming in on a stock that’s already up 30 or 40% this year. Instead, you have to accept that you missed it.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Shared His Takes on These 14 Stocks and Jim Cramer Offered Insights on These 16 Stocks.
Cramer explained what he called the wrong approach. He said an investor might have decided earlier in the week that it was time to buy an oil producer based on the idea that the U.S. government now appears to have influence over Venezuela, or at least over Venezuelan petroleum. He called that decision a mistake, and noted that buying close to the peak exposed investors to unnecessary risk. More importantly, he said that if Venezuela significantly increases oil output over the next 18 months, crude prices could come under heavy pressure.
“The bottom line: What you really want are companies with stocks that allow you to take advantage of the magic of compounding and make longer-term gains, not trading gains, longer term. By all means, own some unloved tech names, but save room for a quality consumer… company like Procter & Gamble.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 15 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on January 7. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. 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).
15 Stocks Jim Cramer Talked About
15. Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39
Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about. When a caller mentioned that there seems to be “a lot of short interest” in the stock during the lightning round, Cramer said:
“Well, that’s because they did miss a quarter, and they didn’t give you a good explanation. Since then, it’s been up and down. We’re struggling with Texas Roadhouse right now. Why? Because of cattle pricing. I have to tell you, the ones that I do like, though, I like Texas Roadhouse. I do like Yum. It was downgraded today. I like McDonald’s. But I can’t pound the table. I told Jeff Marks from the investing club, my partner, I can’t pound the table when we still have too high food inflation. So, I’m going to have to say no to Wingstop.”
Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) operates and franchises restaurants specializing in cooked-to-order chicken wings, tenders, and sandwiches. A caller inquired about the stock during the October 3, 2025, episode and Cramer responded:
“Okay, I think this is a really important call because I was surprised that it started going down… I fear Wingstop because they’ve not been, let’s say, that they don’t really offer the kind of guidance that I want. And let’s put it this way, I think it’s too high risk, and the restaurant stocks are not doing well. We own Texas Roadhouse for the Charitable Trust. As you know, it’s not doing that well because of the prices of food. Too many of these commodities have gone up too much. So I’m holding back everything until I see their earnings themselves.”
14. Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25
Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about. Noting that they have held the stock for years, a caller asked if they should consider buying more, and Cramer responded:
“You know, it always had great technology. It always has. I always keep waiting for that like an explosive move…. you know what? It’s not that expensive versus growth. I’m going to, I’m going to bless it for you. You’ve obviously done some homework, and you’ve been around for a long time. You know it’s a good one.”
Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) develops memory interface chips and silicon IP that help systems move and secure data more efficiently. Carillon Tower Advisers stated the following regarding Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) provides technology and chips to the computer memory industry. The company has some of the fastest technology solutions needed for the large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) data centers being built by the hyperscalers. We believe the company’s evolution from a licensing and patent company into a full-fledged product company is progressing well, and we expect healthy growth as hyperscaler capital expenditures (capex) continue.”
