On Wednesday, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, urged investors to stay calm despite a wave of selling in the stock market. The recent drop in stock prices, he explained, is largely driven by rising bond yields and ongoing concerns surrounding the federal budget.
According to Cramer, interest rates continue to climb and are putting pressure on equities. He pointed out that as investors sift through quarterly earnings, there is a sense that economic momentum stalled across the country. He said that the slowdown appears to have occurred in the period between Liberation Day, when the president introduced sweeping tariffs, and the subsequent weeks when many of those tariffs were rolled back.
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Talked About These 10 Stocks Recently and Jim Cramer’s Recent Thoughts on These 15 Stocks.
Cramer made it clear that even though the government eventually backed off most of the tariffs, the damage to business confidence may have already been done. He mentioned, “I haven’t found a CEO who isn’t deeply concerned that they could come right back.” However, he went on to say:
“Remember, we’re in the thick of it right now. The budget deficit is front and center, hence the reckoning. When we finish the budget negotiations and we get some big beautiful bill, people will start focusing on how the tax cuts should be great for growth.”
According to Cramer, the shift in focus will usher in a different narrative. He said, “The reckoning will be replaced by a new thesis.” He acknowledged that whether or not the outlook is accurate is not the point; it is the change in sentiment that will matter most, as it could lift the heavy mood currently hanging over the markets.
“The bottom line is that this market should come roaring back because there are plenty of companies that can deliver excellent earnings in this environment, and their stocks are being clubbed along with everything else. Patience. Patience. Better prices are coming, I can promise you that.”
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 May 21. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Cramer Had These 9 Stocks on His Radar
9. Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
A caller inquired if they should hold Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) stock for the long haul or dump it and run while they can. Here’s what Mad Money’s host had to say:
“It had great revenues. I mean, I would’ve told you, let’s swap out of that and go into Tesla. But you know what? You can ride it… This is a young person’s stock. An older person stock will want Tesla, okay. Because it’s not clear to me that this company’s sustainable. But that’s a nice call by that gentleman.”
Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY) develops autonomous driving technologies and offers services such as robotaxi and robotruck operations, vehicle integration, and software solutions. Additionally, the company provides intelligent driving systems, licensing, and vehicle-to-everything products aimed at improving transportation and road safety.
Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY) reported unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2025 on May 20. It reported total revenues of $14 million (RMB101.6 million), an 11.6% rise from $12.5 million in the same period a year earlier. The increase was largely due to significant growth in revenue from Robotaxi services. For the quarter, the company posted a non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share of $0.10 (RMB0.73), which was an improvement from a net loss of $0.28 per share in the first quarter of 2024.
8. Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24
When a caller asked if Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) is a long-term play, Cramer commented:
“You’re 21. Let’s put our money with something that is going to make a little more sense than Lucid. I think that if you wanted to be in that area, if you wanted to be in that kind of progressive area, you might go with Rivian, okay. I think Rivian is better than Lucid. Bingo.”
Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) designs and builds electric vehicles, powertrains, and battery systems. The company also develops its own proprietary software for its vehicles. In February, Cramer commented on the company as he said:
“All sorts of electric vehicle plays that came public during the IPO frenzy of ‘20 and ‘21 got crushed. Rivian although ended up coming back. But Lucid, Nikola, Canoo, the Lion Electric, Lightning eMotors, Lordstown Motors, Faraday Future Intelligent Electric, all saw their stocks plunge more than 90% from peak to trough.”
