Iran Conflict Rattles Stocks — Jim Cramer’s Game Plan and 9 Stock Calls

In this article, we will look at everything Jim Cramer said regarding his latest game plan as the oil-shock-driven sell-off continues. The host of Mad Money laid out his expectations for the coming week on Friday as he said:

We gotta go to the game plan for next week to figure this one out. Now, these days, Mondays revolve entirely around the war and ratcheting up in tension. We know that our president said there would be an extension of a bombing pause, but there’s still hostilities, which to me means that oil goes higher, and when oil goes higher, we know that the stock market goes lower. I keep repeating that because I want people to be really understanding of what’s driving the market down.

READ ALSO Jim Cramer Broke Down 16 Stocks Including Pharma Plays for Rising Oil and Jim Cramer Said to Sit on Your Hands Amid Trump and Iran Confusion While Highlighting 9 Stocks

Cramer pointed to various economic reports being released during the week that could influence the Federal Reserve’s next moves. He highlighted the upcoming JOLTS report, which tracks job openings and labor turnover, along with retail sales data due later in the week, calling both important indicators.

We’ve seen interest rates creeping up late in sync with the inflation caused by the war. The incoming Fed chief, Kevin Warsh, wants to cut rates, but he needs to see more job losses to have something in his quiver besides bad housing numbers. JOLTS could show us some layoffs. He also needs to see retail sales get weaker. They’ve been way too strong to justify cuts.

Cramer mentioned that while no one is rooting for weaker economic data, lower rates are badly needed, especially to support housing, and added that a rate cut would give bullish investors something positive to work with.

The bottom line: I have to say, these declines aren’t just about tech. They’re about what you get when you have both inflation and higher interest rates, and the inflation’s coming from oil. I think the market could continue to go down until the war’s over, and commodities can decline to where they were before it started, and probably not before then, which is why it is such a tough time.

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 9 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 27. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them.

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Iran Conflict Rattles Stocks — Jim Cramer’s Game Plan and 9 Stock Calls

9. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was among the stocks Jim Cramer highlighted, along with his latest game plan as the oil-shock-driven sell-off continues. Cramer mentioned the stock during the episode and said:

Now, what I suggest you do is look at Johnson & Johnson. Until it became clear that the impact wouldn’t be as bad, the stock was in free fall, and then when it was clear, it went from $140 to $230 almost in the blink of an eye. I think the same thing will happen here.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) develops and sells healthcare products, including pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, with treatments in immunology, oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular care, and infectious diseases. Cramer called it a “textbook slowdown stock” during the March 19 episode, as he commented:

Yesterday, we got some terrific news from Johnson & Johnson, but because the tape was so ugly, the stock did nothing. Actually finished the session down 0.35%. Oh, it was a brutal session… Sometimes, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for the averages creates buying opportunities for you, and I think we’re getting one right now in Johnson & Johnson. Why? Because yesterday morning, we learned that they got FDA approval for ICOTYDE. Now, that is their oral treatment for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis…

Right now, AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson both have injectable drugs in the same category, but nobody wants to use a needle if they can use a pill instead. AbbVie’s plaque psoriasis drug, Skyrizi, did over $17.5 billion in sales this year. Now, J&J has a pill version that I think could conceivably eat that drug alive. We’re talking about an enormous total addressable market year, and yet the stock actually went lower in response. That’s silly… We’ve been trying to own this one. I think that right now it’s just trying to catch its breath, but it is such a winner… I’ve been pushing JNJ hard since last September… Management thinks the new drug can ultimately do $5 billion in peak sales. I think that’s a very low-ball number. Some of Wall Street is even more bullish…

Here’s the bottom line: The market-wide sell-off yesterday masked some very good news for JNJ with their novel plaque psoriasis pill gaining FDA approval. I think you’re getting a great buying opportunity here because this was a genuine positive development that absolutely, it did nothing for the share price because of what’s happening in Iran. Long story short, JNJ’s story keeps getting better and better and better, and it is still not too late to buy the stock. Plus, this company’s more or less immune to the price of oil. It’s a textbook slowdown stock.

8. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was among the stocks Jim Cramer highlighted, along with his latest game plan as the oil-shock-driven sell-off continues. Cramer highlighted the company’s legal battles, as he remarked:

I did it again with Meta. I made a real study of what happens to companies and their stocks when they lose court cases, especially when a jury decides they’ve done something pernicious… negative, sometimes deadly impact. I think that, as tragic as these cases are that they lost, they ultimately won’t impact Meta’s earnings per share or the way they operate. The operative word in the sentence is ultimately, though, because in the interim, this stock has lost tens of billions of dollars for that one court case. I misjudged the impact of people saying that social media is the new tobacco, a point that I think will be addressed at the appellate level and then turned around. But that takes a long time. In the interim, you lose money.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) develops technologies and applications that connect people through social networking and messaging. The company’s portfolio includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads, and virtual and augmented reality products. We recently discussed the company while covering Abrams Capital Management’s portfolio. You can read more about it here.

7. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) was among the stocks Jim Cramer highlighted, along with his latest game plan as the oil-shock-driven sell-off continues. Cramer discussed the company in light of AI disruption, as he stated:

I want to start with CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company that’s the best there is. It’s crushed the numbers like almost no other, but its stock has become a real laggard thanks to the efforts of another company called Anthropic, a private company. The AI upstart has gone out of its way to talk about how it will eventually offer the best cybersecurity in the world. That seems like they’re gunning for CrowdStrike. And every time Anthropic makes security claims, well, CrowdStrike’s stock gets pummeled.

I actually find it takes a lot of guts to do what Anthropic is doing. I wouldn’t do it. The truth, as CEO George Kurtz explained right here on our show last night, is that Anthropic simply isn’t a cybersecurity company and wouldn’t know how to do it. It’s a hands-on business. We actually have to speak to people. It’s highly unlikely that any compliance officer would allow their company to work with Anthropic on agent creation and then have Anthropic protect those agents from cyber terrorism.

Meanwhile, CrowdStrike has the data that can stop the attack. It’s ready. But to go back to… question, the mistake I made, and now I’ve made it twice, is to believe the truth will matter when Wall Street keeps lapping up misinformation from Anthropic. I thought that when George explained all of this, it would mean something to the stock. I really did. How naive was I?… I chose to ignore what the impact would be. I chose to ignore the misleading comments and banked on the truth.

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) provides cloud-based cybersecurity solutions. The company offers protection for endpoints, cloud systems, identities, and data.

6. Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B)

Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B) was among the stocks Jim Cramer highlighted, along with his latest game plan as the oil-shock-driven sell-off continues. Cramer highlighted the stock’s decline over the past five and a half years, as he said:

No one’s saying that things are going great for Brown-Forman, and I don’t want to give you that impression. They’re not. But given the context of a stock with a great brand, Jack Daniel’s down nearly 70% over the past five and a half years, we have to grade this one on a curve. More importantly, there are genuine signs of some improvement… It’s not like Brown-Forman has its head in the sand… After eight consecutive quarters’ year-over-year declines, Brown-Forman reported positive net sales growth in its most recent quarter along with a healthy earnings beat… So after years in the house of pain, the business is finally seeing some improvement. Meanwhile, the stock’s gotten pretty darn cheap as long as you can trust management to make the numbers. It now sells for less than 16 times this year’s earnings estimate…

It’s down from 40 times earnings at its high in 2020. And now there’s this new catalyst, the takeover interest from Pernod Ricard. Now, I should say up front that there are reasons to be skeptical about the potential for a deal like this… I hope they’re willing to sell because frankly, I think this proposed merger makes a ton of sense. It would create a combined business that’s more diverse and better positioned to take on the market leader that is Diageo, which right now feels like kind of a pitiful, helpless giant. There could be lots of cost synergies, too.

But here’s the bottom line in this very exciting story: The news of a potential merger between Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman has me wondering if some of these liquor companies might actually be worth something. A stock like Brown-Forman has come down huge from its highs, and the underlying business has finally started beating the numbers again. They’re even posting sales and earnings growth for the first time in ages. So while this horrible market has you thinking about buying a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in your liquor store… perhaps you should be picking up some shares of the company that made the bottle. For the first time… I think that Brown-Forman could be worth [buy, buy, buy].

Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B) produces and sells a diverse range of spirits and wines, including well-known brands like Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve.

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