On Friday, Mad Money host, Jim Cramer, shared his perspective on how investors might approach the stock market given the current economic uncertainty.
“You gotta make a list and decide what you can live with and what’s simply too dicey to buy. That my good friends, is how you have to think about stocks right now if you’re willing to be a slave to this crazy market in order to try to pocket what you can during this difficult period.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer’s Game Plan: 15 Stocks to Watch and Jim Cramer Discussed These 12 Stocks.
Cramer emphasized that before making any trading decision unless the plan is to hold it long-term and ride out near-term turbulence, investors should run what he described as a “gauntlet” of significant considerations. The first question he raised is whether the company in question does business in any foreign country. While it is common for investors to be cautious about China these days, Cramer pointed out that any nation could suddenly draw the ire of the U.S. president.
“Now, it’s one thing to be worried about China, but it’s another to recognize that any country could at any time find itself on the president’s bad side. And once they get on his bad side, any American company doing real business there, finished.”
Cramer stressed the importance of avoiding companies that rely on international operations or resources. The second point on his checklist involved evaluating whether a company is cyclical, essentially, if it is vulnerable to swings in the broader economy. Highlighting the scale of the current trade friction, Cramer pointed out that the United States is effectively embargoing $439 billion worth of goods from China. He noted that it is likely to push inflation to levels not seen in a very long time. He added:
“It’s hard to disagree with that assessment and I say that as someone who generally supports a trade crackdown on the Chinese government.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on April 11. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock 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 is Bullish on These 10 Stocks
10. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77
Cramer commented on CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) as he said:
“Finally, they’re a little pricey but I want to own some cybersecurity companies and the trust owns two of them because they can’t really be tariffed and they have no natural enemies, including states that have sided against us in the trade war. For the cybersecurity firms, countries with state-sponsored hackers like China, they are an annuity stream. We have not one, but two for the trust, as I mentioned, Palo Alto, PANW, and CrowdStrike, CRWD. And I’ve got to tell you, either one is just terrific. Just terrific.”
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) offers cybersecurity solutions, with the Falcon platform being a key product. The platform includes a full set of tools focused on endpoint protection. TimesSquare Capital Management stated the following regarding CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Among the wide variety of Information Technology companies, we prefer critical system providers, specialized component designers, systems that improve productivity or efficiency for their clients, and others that are growing their shares of corporate IT budgets. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) provides cybersecurity solutions. Its unified platform offers cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, cloud workloads, identity, and data. The company delivered solid fiscal third quarter results that exceeded the high end of guidance and boosted its share price by 22%. Notably, there was resilient gross revenue retention that highlights CrowdStrike’s best in class product offering. New business win rates remained consistent and trending upwards. Following its mid-July outage, many customers have upgraded to the Falcon Flex program, which enables them to adopt a broader product offering.”
9. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Coming to Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW), Cramer commented:
“Finally, they’re a little pricey but I want to own some cybersecurity companies and the trust owns two of them because they can’t really be tariffed and they have no natural enemies, including states that have sided against us in the trade war. For the cybersecurity firms, countries with state-sponsored hackers like China, they are an annuity stream. We have not one, but two for the trust, as I mentioned, Palo Alto, PANW, and CrowdStrike, CRWD. And I’ve got to tell you, either one is just terrific. Just terrific.”
Palo Alto (NASDAQ:PANW) delivers cybersecurity solutions that cover network protection, cloud security, and virtual firewalls. It also offers tools for threat detection, prevention, and response across different systems and services.
8. The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72
Cramer recommended The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) during the episode as he said:
“Then there are the health insurers, Humana, UnitedHealth, and Cigna. They are the ones I have my eyes on. They’re the easiest spot and we want them easy. I know the Charitable Trust should own one of these. I’m just debating which one.”
Cigna (NYSE:CI) offers insurance and related services across the country. It focuses on coordinated health services such as pharmacy benefits, care management, and a range of medical, dental, pharmacy, and behavioral health plans. On April 15, Baird cut its price target on CI stock to $362 from $388 and kept an Outperform rating.
The firm expects limited interest in managed care and healthcare facility stocks until policy uncertainty is resolved. It does not see guidance increasing, as companies are likely to keep a cautious outlook for 2025 due to possible challenges tied to Part D and broader economic factors.
7. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 150
Discussing health insurers like UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), Cramer said:
“Then there are the health insurers, Humana, UnitedHealth, and Cigna. They are the ones I have my eyes on. They’re the easiest spot and we want them easy. I know the Charitable Trust should own one of these. I’m just debating which one.”
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) offers health benefit plans, care services, pharmacy support, and health management programs. It also provides software tools, consulting, and data solutions to organizations in the healthcare field. In the beginning of April, Cramer stated:
“Right now, there’ll be a lot of fund managers who say, why do I need any of this? Just give me stocks that are American stocks that have nothing to do. And UnitedHealth, which sells at 19 times earnings, would probably sell at 25 times earnings in the near-term future, because UnitedHealth actually defines what I’m telling you people want. Up another 12 today. And that’s how money managers work. They’ll buy Umana, they’ll buy UNH, they’ll buy Cigna. […] You’re going to hear people come on, like on two-stock lunch or whatever, and they’re going to say, you know what? I like UnitedHealth and Humana here. Why? Well, they’re totally independent. Totally domestic.”
6. Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) was mentioned during the episode, and here’s what Mad Money’s host had to say:
“Then there are the health insurers, Humana, UnitedHealth, and Cigna. They are the ones I have my eyes on. They’re the easiest spot and we want them easy. I know the Charitable Trust should own one of these. I’m just debating which one.”
Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) provides health insurance and care services that include medical coverage, pharmacy benefits, and home-based care. It supports government healthcare programs and works with individuals, employers, and military personnel. Last week on Squawk on the Street, Cramer said:
“Is the market reflecting any of this? No, but something else is happening too. People are investing in companies, just started yesterday, that don’t have all that much exposure to China or none. You can see it in healthcare, excluding drugs, which are still facing the possibility of their own set of tariffs. UnitedHealth Group and Humana are good examples. They were up once again. I mean it’s really incredible. Former up nearly 3%, The latter up 2%.”
5. Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Cramer recommended Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) as he said:
“If you want one that’s doing a little bit more than just distribution, I want you to consider Cardinal Health. We’ve had them on a couple times. They’re really smart guys.”
Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) provides healthcare products and services. The company offers pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and support solutions for various care settings. It also delivers logistics, pharmacy management, and technology-driven distribution services across the healthcare industry. Appearing on Squawk on the Street in January, Cramer said:
“And Cardinal Health up, why? Very simply, because Cardinal Health is a middle man, people didn’t want to own it. Turned out to be better than expected… I would absolutely do the opposite of everything I just said in terms of where stocks are going. Everything. Take the other side of everyone of those trades. Take the other side.”
4. Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
Mentioning Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) during the episode, Cramer said:
“I always talk to you about the drug middlemen. Companies like McKesson and Cencora, these are two money machines no matter what. Even as I believe we should be able to automate and digitize these businesses out of existence, they’re the kings and they’re the must-owns in this environment.”
Cencora (NYSE:COR) distributes pharmaceutical products and delivers healthcare services worldwide. It supports healthcare providers through pharmacy management, clinical trial services, and specialized logistics. On April 10, Cramer remarked:
“Look I think that if I were the people at McKesson, Cencora, when the President-elect decides that he is going to take a shot at you, as we know from his first time around, it’s not one off. There’s multiple shots. Multiple attempts to say listen you guys are . . . friction. I would not buy these stocks.”
3. McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78
Calling McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) a money machine, Cramer commented:
“I always talk to you about the drug middlemen. Companies like McKesson and Cencora, these are two money machines no matter what. Even as I believe we should be able to automate and digitize these businesses out of existence, they’re the kings and they’re the must-owns in this environment.”
McKesson (NYSE:MCK) supplies healthcare services by distributing medications, medical supplies, and handling logistics. The company provides technology tools, consulting services, and support to healthcare providers, biopharmaceutical companies, and patients. On April 3, Cramer said:
“There’s always money to go somewhere. I think the money’s going to heavily to the American Electric Powers, the Entergys, the utilities, to the companies that have pricing power like Proctor, JNJ. And will flee the areas where it’s so hard for companies to get out of areas.” “The money funnels to a dozen stocks. It goes to McKesson, it goes to AT&T. David, it goes to Kimberly, it goes to Procter.”
2. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 80
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was mentioned during the episode, and here’s what Cramer had to say:
“So what made this list so far? Right now there’s peace among the phone companies. The big price war seems to be a thing of the past. That means you can own both Verizon and AT&T. Both have good yields. Both are reporting better-than-expected earnings. They’re worth owning because their businesses have very little cyclicality. So that’s the paradigm, okay?”
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) delivers various telecommunications and technology services, including wireless voice, data plans, broadband internet, cloud tools, and managed service options. TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund stated the following regarding AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), based in Dallas, TX, is a nationwide provider of voice, video, and data communications services to businesses and consumers in the wired, wireless, and broadband. At initiation, the stock had a $141 billion market capitalization and met all five valuation factors with an above market dividend yield of 5.6%. From a sustainability prism, the company completed its commitment to invest $2 billion by the end of 2023 to help bridge the digital divide. AT&T is working on enabling low-income households to access to low-cost broadband services through its Access service plan as well as reaching out to more rural communities and Tribal lands where internet access remains a challenge. It is nearly 85% the way to providing one million people in need with digital resources through AT&T Connected Learning® with the goal to be reached by the end of 2025. In 2020, the company announced that it is committed to be carbon neutral by 2035 with zero carbon emission across all operations. It is deploying Smart Climate Solutions – through efforts like its Connected Climate Initiative – that will help enable its business customers to reduce their emissions as well. The company’s goal is to help collectively reduce its emissions by one billion metric tons – a gigaton – by 2035, compared to 2018 levels. The primary catalysts are new/strong management and restructuring. John Stankey was appointed CEO in July 2020 and he is committed to refocusing the company and improving its financial performance. The company combined its WarnerMedia operation with Discovery during 1Q:22 which eliminated AT&T’s exposure to the rapidly evolving media industry and refocused its core telecommunication business thus eliminating a major drag on profitability and the company’s balance sheet by reducing long-term debt from a peak $176 billion during 2020 to $142 billion at the end of June 2024 quarter. AT&T is moving aggressively to reduce cost and sell non-core assets such as its advertising platform Xander to Microsoft† which was accomplished during 2022. The company has redesigned its network to be software driven structure reducing the capital investment cycle in its national network – resulting in a network that is flexible with unrivaled speed and reliability – thus enhancing its nationwide position. By the end of 2023, it expanded its 5G network to reach more than 302 million people in nearly 24,500 cities and towns in the U.S. The company’s mid-band 5G+ network alone grew to cover more than 210 million people. AT&T is one of the largest investors in digital infrastructure in the U.S. Over the five years ending 2023, the company invested nearly $150 billion primarily in its wireless, fiber optics, and wireline networks. The extensive restructuring and refocusing of AT&T on its core business should result in improved earnings and cash flow while at the same time reducing uncertainty for shareholders.”
1. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
In this turbulent environment, Cramer said that there are a few stocks investors can own and he mentioned Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) among them.
“So what made this list so far? Right now there’s peace among the phone companies. The big price war seems to be a thing of the past. That means you can own both Verizon and AT&T. Both have good yields. Both are reporting better-than-expected earnings. They’re worth owning because their businesses have very little cyclicality. So that’s the paradigm, okay?”
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) provides communication, technology, and entertainment services to individual customers, companies, and government organizations. Its offerings include wireless plans, internet access, and traditional phone services. During March 11’s episode of Squawk on the Street, Cramer remarked:
[On Q1 guidance and recent results] “Well they had a decent quarter last time. So I think that’s interesting. I think that it’s probably an over reaction because people don’t like that dividend versus where bonds are. But interest rates yesterday were terrific for the market but no one really wanted to care. Because people say well that’s just flight to safety. I don’t give a. . .I’m sorry, darn, you know what’s going on… “Verizon’s not. Verizon was more competitive last quarter.” So that’s one to watch.”
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