In this piece, we will look at the stocks that Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed President Trump’s tariffs and their impact on the economy and America’s global politics. Taking a rather unconventional position, the CNBC host commented that tariffs were a better way to get other nations to cooperate with America than coups:
“Well look you’ve got the Smoot-Hawley where already in excess of that which is the one’s with. . .a lot of people feel it had a lot to do with the Great Depression. I come back and say, these are all negotiable, and I don’t believe the final ones. I think they can come now. You know I write the Mad Money with my, I have one writer, he’s also my head writer, Cliff Mason, my sister’s kid, and he points out to me, he said Jim, you’re being a little politically naive here. In the old days when we were short of copper, the CIA caused a coup and we then put a right wing guy in, and that’s how we got our copper, that maybe the 50% tariff is a little bit more light handed than the old days.”
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 July 11th.
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).
9. Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 45
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is an iconic American apparel company, which is one of the most well-known brands in the world. Its shares have gained 26% year-to-date and are up by 57% since early April. One reason why Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)’s shares have performed well in 2025 is due to the firm’s ability to manage the high costs resulting from President Trump’s tariffs. For instance, the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings report released in May saw its $1.70 billion in revenue, and $2.27 in profit per share beat estimates of $1.65 billion and $2. Cramer also commented on Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)’s ability to hold its ground against the tariffs:
“And Ralph Lauren is doing well. We’ve got companies that I think can withstand the tariff.”
Previously, the CNBC host discussed Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) in detail:
“This is a stock I recommended a little over a month ago on March 13th when it was trading at just $216 and change. Now it’s back up to $274. I’m betting it continues to climb. Yesterday morning, Ralph Lauren reported what I thought was an excellent quarter, but the market couldn’t figure out what to make of the numbers, and the stock turned into a roller coaster, ultimately finishing the session up three and a half bucks. The way I see it, the stock should have been up a lot more, but it was down a lot at one point…
… When you put it all together, Ralph Lauren’s not only holding its ground against the backdrop of an uncertain economy, it’s positioning itself for long-term success. So here’s the bottom line: It’s clear that demand for RL’s timeless apparel is more than intact. And when you factor in their strong international business sourcing flexibility and momentum in high-potential categories, project momentum, Ralph Lauren’s looking really good after that quarter. The sellers were wrong yesterday, and the buyers who sent the stock back up were dead right. More important, this thing, it’s got a lot more to run.”
8. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q1 2025: 93
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, has lost 15% year-to-date on the stock market. Its shares were off to a rocky start in 2025 when the firm’s GARDASIL vaccine faced headwinds in China. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s shares lost 16.8% in February after the weaknesses led it to miss analyst fourth quarter profit and full year forecasts. Another concern about the firm has been its blockbuster KEYTRUDA vaccine, which is one of the most successful cancer drugs in history. In his previous remarks, Cramer has asserted that Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has a robust portfolio, which can enable it to overcome the KEYTRUDA shortfall. His recent remarks mentioned the firm’s Verona acquisition:
“Did you see the Merck deal the other day? Verona? Two gentlemen? Getting together, Merck and Verona. You know they’re not gonna block that. That doesn’t even hit the radar, whoever’s in antitrust.”
Previously, Cramer discussed Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s drug pipeline:
“Yeah, I talked to Rob this morning, really liked this. He thinks he’s got about 50 billion dollars worth of new drugs, which would therefore make it so you should stop worrying about the Keytruda patent expiration in 2028. I am with Rob. I think this COPD is a really important, another important franchise for them the alternative use steroids. And we’ve all be discovering that if you have trouble using steroids, one it becomes less effective over time, and two, the side effects are much worse than people realize. So I think this is a first in class, novel, compound that will make it so, see Merck’s up because we’re starting to get less worried about the expiration. And you know, Rob, I appreciate the fact that Rob is doing the old days, which is you go look at what the younger companies are doing and then you buy them. . .I like this acquisition very much.”
