On Thursday’s episode of Mad Money, host Jim Cramer highlighted several of the top-performing stocks of the day within the S&P 500.
“For much of the tremendous run over the past decade, critics love to point out that most of our gains were coming from a small cadre of tech stocks… Over and over again, as the market roared higher, we were told that the rally was so narrow that it could not be sustainable.”
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However, Cramer pushed back against that narrative. He mentioned that if investors are actively engaged, constantly analyzing what fails, what risks exist, and what opportunities are real, they can start to see that markets do not always behave as critics expect.
Whilst he did admit that narrow rallies can collapse under their own weight, he pointed out that that is not the only outcome. He mentioned that they can also begin to include a wider range of sectors and companies, which would push the market to new highs without including those who were bearish on the rally.
“Here’s the bottom line: For years, we were warned that our rallies were too narrow. Now, we’ve got a broad leadership group. Today, it was a solar, a couple of minerals, a crypto platform, two data center stocks, a utility, a biotech, and a natural gas producer. That’s what I call a real broad, bullish rally. Everyone who warned you that the market was too narrow to go higher is now either closing out their short positions or getting their faces ripped off. Neither’s a good thing.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episodes of Mad Money aired on June 26. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the first quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 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 Highlighted the Top 10 S&P 500 Winners of the Day
10. APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. During the episode, Cramer commented that the stock is cheap as compared to its assets, as he said:
“Finally rounding things out… APA, the old Apache, [it] can run, but they can’t hide. This is an oil and gas company, primarily natural gas. Apache’s been a huge disappointment over the years. Maybe now that it’s APA, it won’t be. Well, anyway, maybe M&A’s picking up.
I had to wonder whether there’s something going on here because otherwise it shouldn’t be going up. I still prefer Coterra for natural gas. Still, no denying that Apache’s cheap versus its assets, and no denying that it’s not a tech company.”
APA (NASDAQ:APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids, with additional global exploration and project interests.
9. Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. Cramer appreciated the new CEO of the company, as he commented:
“We then have Incyte. That’s a biotech company. It just got a new CEO, Bill Meury. He’s an industry veteran, known as a deal maker. Makes sense. Meury was previously the CEO of Karuna Therapeutics, which he sold to Bristol Myers for a very nice premium, that better start working soon. Before that, he was… [the] chief commercial officer at Allergan. It’s a company famous for its deal-making.”
Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for cancer, inflammatory conditions, and rare diseases. The company provides a range of approved drugs and advances a diverse pipeline of clinical-stage candidates. On June 26, the company announced that its CEO of 11 years, Hervé Hoppenot, retired and was succeeded by the industry leader Bill Meury.
On the same day, RBC noted that Meury’s background in leading major biotech deals has raised some investor speculation about it becoming a potential M&A target. Nevertheless, Incyte’s position as a commercial-stage company and the expected loss of Jakafi exclusivity, which could cut earnings by 76% by the end of the decade, may limit that potential. RBC sees Meury’s experience as a positive for the company’s future and kept a Sector Perform rating with a $67 price target on the stock.
8. NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54
NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. During the episode, Cramer mentioned the stock and commented:
“Then there’s NRG. I mean, it’s part of a small group of utilities known for their relatively clean power, and a lot of tech companies want clean energy for their data centers. NRG works directly with them, and it also partners with GE Vernova, a Charitable Trust holding that makes the turbines for their power plants.”
NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) is an energy and home services company that generates and sells electricity from several sources. The company also provides smart home solutions and offers a wide range of retail and energy management services. On June 26, the stock’s coverage was initiated by Barclays with an Overweight rating and a $197 price target.
Analyst Nicholas Campanella noted that NRG operates a competitive power and natural gas business in the U.S., supported by a home services segment that aligns with its broader growth strategy. Barclays views NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) as offering notable upside sensitivity to power prices, while trading at one of the lowest valuations among independent power producers.
7. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. During the episode, Cramer said that he prefers another stock but SMCI is also doing well. He commented:
“There was another data center play. This time, it’s Super Micro, an important partner of NVIDIA. Now I think that… Not Super Micro, I think Dell is the right investment in the space, but there’s no denying the stock is doing quite well.”
Super Micro (NASDAQ:SMCI) designs and sells high-performance server and storage systems built on modular, open architecture, and it provides a range of hardware, software, and support services. The company’s products serve markets such as data centers, cloud computing, AI, 5G, and edge computing through various sales channels. During a May episode of Mad Money, Cramer said that the stock is cheap compared to other stocks related to the industry, but he prefers Dell more. He commented:
“No, no. To tell you the truth, I mean, this one had some accounting issues. They do seem to be now long enough behind them that analysts are starting to recommend the stock again. It’s relatively cheap versus the whole cohort. If you want to consider the cohort… like a CoreWeave or, of course, an NVIDIA, and I would tell you, it is more expensive than Dell. I do like Dell more, but I think you could do a lot more… with Super Micro. But let me tell you something, you’ve got more product knowledge than I do, and I like what you had to say.”
6. Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. Cramer mentioned the stock during the episode and said that it is his long-time favorite. He remarked:
“There was even a tech stock, and it isn’t a magnificent one. We’re talking about Arista Networks, which makes networking equipment, long-time Cramer fave. After that last quarter, some thought that Arista had lost a step. I didn’t see it that way, but you had to wait a bit before it seemed to matter.”
Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) develops and sells data-driven networking solutions for cloud, AI, data center, campus, and routing environments, built around its Extensible Operating System and a suite of network applications. During a May episode, Cramer said that he prefers another stock more than Arista (NYSE:ANET), as he commented:
“Arista Networks had a better quarter this time than the previous quarter. At the same time, I will tell you, here’s what concerns me: I think Cisco did a better job this quarter and is taking some of their business. I’d rather have you go with Cisco, which is a much cheaper stock.”
5. Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. Cramer showed a bullish sentiment toward the stock and broader crypto group, as he said:
“Next, Coinbase. Alright, the cryptocurrency stocks, they just never want to quit. And this is a group that matters, even if older portfolio managers don’t care [and] look the other way. I think this one’s going higher, to who knows where.”
Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) operates a platform for crypto assets, and it offers consumer accounts, institutional trading services, and developer tools for building onchain applications. In February, Cramer commented that he would prefer investors just buy Bitcoin instead of the company stock, as he said on February 4:
“Listen, sunshine, just go buy coin, just go buy the Bitcoin. Well, yeah. What do we do with the Coinbase? We don’t want the Coinbase, we want the Bitcoin because that could be a, by the way, the, we make that special petroleum reserve slash Bitcoin reserve, that’ll do better than Coinbase.”
4. McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70
McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. Cramer mentioned the company during the episode and remarked:
“Then we’ve got McCormick, the spice company. This one’s a shocker because most of the food stocks have been given up… [or] left for dead. Turns out, some parts of the food industry are getting it right and their stocks are going up.”
McCormick (NYSE:MKC) produces and distributes spices, seasonings, condiments, and related products under a wide portfolio of global and regional brands. During a March episode of Squawk on the Street, Cramer discussed the stock, as he said:
“And I just wanted to defend McCormick for a second, now they do have two percent volume growth. It’s not bad. They do have some currency that really knocked things down. People are not factoring it. If you factored in the currency which was bigger than they thought, it’s actually in-line. But what I like about McKormick best, is that people are, when people are . . .and don’t want to go out to expensive restaurants, they cook. And when you cook, you use spice. . .And McCormick is a spice company, and I think they’re gonna do very well if things get, uh, let’s say tougher in the country. Because do it yourself does well. And cooking does well. And McCormick will do well.”
3. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. The stock was discussed by Cramer during the episode, and the Mad Money host said:
“Next is Albemarle. This is a chemical company that produces lithium. I honestly don’t know where this one’s coming from. We haven’t suddenly seen a surge in electric vehicle sales that I’ve seen, or any tax credits in the Congressional bill. It’s a broadening out mystery, could be happening.”
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) delivers energy storage and specialty chemical solutions, and the company provides lithium compounds, bromine products, and advanced catalyst technologies. The company’s products and solutions support industries such as electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, aerospace, and clean energy. In a March episode of Mad Money, Cramer said that he wants to stay away from it. He remarked:
“I can’t go, I can’t go with it. I can’t go. I’ll tell you why I can’t go with it because in the end we, I, we forgot about EVs. I mean like, you know, we like, pretty soon, we’re going to be like buying gas guzzlers. I want to stay away from that one, but so does everybody else. That’s the only problem.”
2. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. Mentioning that he does not want to own it, Cramer said:
“Then it was Freeport-McMoRan, that’s the copper miner. Copper’s been a loser for years, but periodically, the Chinese order tons of it, or we buy it in bulk for the data centers. I don’t want to own Freeport, even as copper is up 25% for the year. Freeport is a trading vehicle, and we don’t do that around here, but it certainly demonstrates the diversity of this top 10 list.”
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) is a mining company focused on the extraction of copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals, with a portfolio of major mineral assets across multiple regions. Diamond Hill Capital Concentrated Fund stated the following regarding Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Among our bottom individual contributors in Q4 were HCA Healthcare and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX). Copper-focused mining company Freeport-McMoRan faced declining copper prices amid a generally challenging macroeconomic environment, including a strong US dollar, ongoing US-China trade tensions, the potential for increased tariffs under President-elect Trump’s administration and general post-election uncertainty.”
1. Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) is one of the top 10 S&P 500 winners of the day that Jim Cramer highlighted. During the episode, Cramer called it a “roughed up solar company,” as he said:
“At the top of that list, that sainted list today, Enphase Energy, oh boy, a roughed up solar company. Oh, it’s driving that possible congressional break that could preserve some solar tax credits.”
Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) creates and sells smart energy systems that include microinverters, batteries, and software for monitoring and controlling solar power. Moreover, the company provides energy storage, EV charging, cloud-based services, and support for system design and permitting. In the first week of 2025, Cramer mentioned the company as he said:
“Finally, there’s Enphase, which is a solar equipment company that has the misfortune of making some of its equipment in China. Given that Trump won over solar advocate Vice President Harris, we can expect that much higher tariffs are looming on Chinese goods. I think it’s amazing that Enphase was only down 48% for the year. But hey, there’s always 2025.”
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