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 impact of the US operation in Venezuela on the stock market. The CNBC TV host started by pointing President Trump could divert oil shipments from Venezuela to China. The day Cramer made the remarks, the US and Venezuela agreed to a $2 billion oil deal, which would divert the supplies to the US. Commenting that the time wasn’t right to be “long” on China, Cramer stated:
“I wouldn’t want to be long China overnight. Because China gets 800,000 barrels per day and that’s a heavy crude. And you could say, well wait a second, the President could divert that. . .”
He then went on to caution against knee-jerk buying as stocks of major oil companies rallied. Cramer posited that oil refineries could be a beneficiary of the geopolitical shift, but the impact would only be visible in a couple of years:
“Look, I do think that, I mean look, I know when I got up I said well I got to come in here and I got to come up with an analysis like David did a lot of work. And I come back and I say, if you want to and say that Chevron could get more, that’s fine, but, maybe the heavy refineries could do well, in two or three years. But the knee jerk buy of the oil companies is the kind of thing we’re trying to get away from. I think in 2026 we have to discourage knee jerk buying of things like small scale nuclear reactors. . .let’s just discourage it.”
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 5th. 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.
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9. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 183
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s shares have gained 49% over the past year. The firm has benefited from AI-generated attention due to its ability to design custom chips. Throughout 2025, Cramer continued to praise Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) and its CEO, Hock Tan. The CNBC TV host believes that Tan is one of the best executives in the technology industry. Analysts have also started 2026 on a positive note for Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO). For instance, Goldman Sachs added the firm to its US Conviction List and kept a $450 share price target and a Buy rating for the stock on January 5th. The bank explained that Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) enjoys a comfortable position in the enterprise silicon market. Goldman’s optimism followed a share price target hike by UBS in December when it increased the technology company’s price target to $475 from $472 and kept a Buy rating. In this appearance, Cramer discussed the dominance of hardware stocks over software and shared his preference for Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO):
“This is the software getting eaten by hardware, which is a little bit of a change. I come back and say, that Salesforce is going to fight. I think we should be buyers of Salesforce, because they have an agentics business. But at the same time, I’d rather own Broadcom, which is Hock Tan, potential winner.”
8. Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 75
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is a glassworks company with a presence in the data center, consumer electronics, and other industries. It performed well in 2025, and the shares are up by 84% over the past year. Last year was an important one for Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) as it saw it expand its partnership with Apple. As the year ended, analysts from Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan shared their thoughts about the firm. Morgan Stanley raised Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)’s share price target to $98 from $82 and kept a Hold rating in late December. The bank pointed out that the company can benefit from the broadening of the AI trade out from semiconductor stocks to those concerned with data center infrastructure. JPMorgan kept a Buy rating on December 30th ahead of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)’s fourth quarter results due later this month. Cramer discussed the firm in the context of stocks that were winners when compared to software companies:
“This is the software getting eaten by hardware, which is a little bit of a change. I come back and say, that Salesforce is going to fight. I think we should be buyers of Salesforce, because they have an agentics business. But at the same time, I’d rather own Broadcom, which is Hock Tan, potential winner. Corning. . .potential winner.”
7. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 243
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s shares have gained 66% over the past year to solidify its lead as one of the largest technology companies in the world. Recently, debate has focused on the firm’s custom AI chips called TPUs. Reports have suggested that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s chips offer a cost advantage to NVIDIA’s AI processors. Another product that has generated news is the firm’s AI platform Gemini. On January 7th, Canaccord Genuity raised Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price target to $390 from $330 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm cited Gemini as one of the reasons it was optimistic about the technology company in the long term. Canaccord’s action followed Wolfe Research bumping Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price target to $380 from $350 on January 5th and maintaining an Outperform rating. As for Cramer, he commented about the rivalry between the firm and NVIDIA:
“It’s interesting that NVIDIA, and Alphabet, Google, are rivals. True rivals, because Google spent a lot of money and has dealt with a lot of high-bandwidth memory.
“And therefore, remember, Alphabet has a special relationship with Apple. I do believe that Gemini’s going to be along for the ride, pay them more, and Gemini’s going to be the de-facto name. It’s going to be Anthropic for business-to-business. . . .for regular search, you’re going to go to Gemini cause it’s just superior to everyone. Now ChatGPT has a new iteration coming, maybe that one will be better.”
6. CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 78
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) is one of the largest pharmaceutical chains in America. Its shares are up by 73% over the past year. JPMorgan named the firm as a Top Pick in December, as it pointed out that CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)’s investor day had left it impressed about the firm’s earnings growth throughout 2028. The bank also raised the share price target to $101 from $93 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. Bernstein also shared an optimistic take about CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) in December as it bumped the price target to $87 from $86 and maintained a Market Perform rating. The optimism also stemmed from the pharma firm’s investor day, with Bernstein left impressed by CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)’s management team and market leadership. As for Cramer, he shared additional insights about the firm’s operations:
“Take David Joiner, who’s really a revolutionary at CVS, and they’ve really implemented Salesforce. And they’re saving a lot of money. Because it’s the agentics, because anybody has a business where you just call and you’re left on hold, that’s over. That’s important.”
5. Capital One Financial Corp (NYSE:COF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 129
Capital One Financial Corp (NYSE:COF) remained one of Jim Cramer’s favorite bank stocks in 2025. The CNBC TV host praised the bank’s acquisition of Discover Financial throughout the year due to the deal’s potential to boost the bank’s credit card business. Late December and early January have also seen optimistic takes from analysts for Capital One Financial Corp (NYSE:COF)’s shares. For instance, in late December, Citi bumped the bank’s share price target to $310 from $290. On January 5th, Wells Fargo increased the share price target to $280 from $265 and kept an Overweight rating. It pointed out that Capital One Financial Corp (NYSE:COF) could benefit from developments in the consumer finance sector. As for Cramer, he continued to praise the Discover deal:
“Well look at Capital One. That move in Capital One is extraordinary yet it still sells at 12 times earnings. And they’re going to have their own credit card with their own back office as they bought Discover. . . this is the group to own. . .if you’re worried about high price to earnings multiples.”
4. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 48
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG) is one of the largest regional banks in America. Its shares are up by 36% over the past year. In late December, Truist raised Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)’s share price target to $63 from $56 and kept a Hold rating on the shares. As part of its coverage, the financial firm pointed out that the bank’s effective cost management could serve it well. However, on Wednesday, Raymond James downgraded Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG)’s shares to Strong Buy from Outperform but bumped the share price target to $66 from $62. It cited strong share price performance behind the downgrade but remained optimistic about the bank’s long-term prospects. Raymond James’ coverage had followed an optimistic Barclays note about Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG). In it, Barclays bumped the share price target to $77 from $56 and the rating to Overweight. Some of the reasons Barclays shared for its optimism included net interest margin expansion and private bank buildout. Cramer called the upgrade an “oddity” and pointed to the share price performance:
“[On Barclays] That’s a, you know, little oddity there. The stock is up gigantically already.”
3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 166
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shares are up by a modest 7% over the past year. Throughout 2025, Cramer maintained an upbeat tone about the firm. He continues to believe that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a stock that should be owned instead of being traded. The CNBC TV host defended the firm throughout multiple periods of weakness in 2025. These included periods where investors wondered whether Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was going to actively participate in the AI race. In 2026, Bank of America discussed the shares. It set a $325 share price target and a Buy rating on January 5th. However, Raymond James resumed coverage on January 2nd as it set a Hold rating for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s shares. Raymond James commented that most of the valuation upside to the shares appeared to already have been priced in and added that supply chain in China, cost pressures, and tariff constraints remained risks. Cramer discussed the firm’s AI strategy and opined that Google’s Gemini might win the race for getting into Apple’s ecosystem:
“Apple, I think is the winner with Gemini.
“And therefore, remember, Alphabet has a special relationship with Apple. I do believe that Gemini’s going to be along for the ride, pay them more, and Gemini’s going to be the de-facto name.”
2. Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 55
Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV) is one of the largest industrial machinery companies in the world. Its shares are up by a modest 6.5% over the past year. Investment bank UBS started 2026 on a strong note when it comes to Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV) as it upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $256 from $200 in January. Behind UBS’ optimism lies the belief that the firm can experience strong organic growth in 2026 after recent struggles amidst a global industrial slowdown. Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV)’s share price target was also bumped to $240 from $225 by BofA in December after the bank’s discussions with the firm’s CEO led to optimism about organic revenue growth. Like the analysts, Cramer is also optimistic about Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV) as he opined that the firm could have a different performance in 2026:
“My charitable trust owns Dover, it’s the lowest multiple of those, I was always surprised at how terribly it traded last year. Could be different this year.”
1. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holdings: 88
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is one of Jim Cramer’s favorite stocks. Despite the fact that the shares are down by 4.8% over the past year, the CNBC TV host has remained a fan. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s shares experienced analyst attention in December when Guggenheim and Telsey discussed them. The former remarked that investors were focused on the retailer’s membership renewal rates as it kept a Neutral rating. Telsey discussed sales growth and membership figures as it reiterated an Outperform rating and a $1,100 share price target. More recently, Mizuho upgraded Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) to Outperform and added it to its Top Picks list. Some of the factors that the bank cited included the belief that the retailer was simply experiencing too much demand and lower costs, along with top-line growth. Cramer pointed at the long-term share price performance and discussed the renewal rates:
“We all talked last year, Carl, about how Costco was on the new low list endlessly. Mizuho recommends it today, and I’m gonna talk about this tonight. I think that, it’s never been a cheap stock. Still sells at 43 times earnings. But, the piece did talk about how, the insatiable demand. I’m gonna have it from the point of view of the chart, where my favorite chart it says, it’s the best there is. Which is interesting because, I have been a short term sufferer, long term lover of Costco, and I’ve always liked shopping.
“Renewal rates are disappointing. . .that’s why it’s been going down and they better address that. That and the CFO calling the customer more choiceful, given the fact that Costco is the lowest. It’s historically been the lowest. I question that choiceful analysis and I think it should be repudiated this quarter.”
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