We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Jim Cramer Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) stands against the other Jim Cramer stocks.

Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently discussed the rise of Bitcoin and expressed his admiration for the digital currency’s growth. However, he was careful to emphasize that Bitcoin should not replace traditional investments, particularly stocks, but rather should complement them in a diversified portfolio.

“I want to discuss Bitcoin, really I do, not to the detriment of stocks but in addition to stocks. I come to praise Bitcoin, not bury it.”

Cramer recalled the moment when President-elect Donald Trump began giving importance to cryptocurrency during his administration. On July 27, Trump declared that the U.S. government would fully embrace Bitcoin if he won the election. At the time, Bitcoin was valued just under $70,000. Cramer also noted Trump’s promise to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve and make America the global leader in cryptocurrency.

Cramer highlighted Trump’s statement, “If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted, and made in the USA.” Regardless of whether one agrees with the policy, Cramer remarked, Trump’s words were a clear signal of how beneficial the growing popularity of cryptocurrency could be for its owners.

READ ALSO Jim Cramer’s Lightning Rounds: 12 Stocks Under the Spotlight and Jim Cramer’s Game Plan This Week: 10 Stocks to Watch

Cramer then shared insights from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who suggested that many investors see Bitcoin as a store of value, similar to gold. He went on to say:

“I’ve always endorsed keeping up to 10% of your portfolio in gold as a kind of insurance against the world’s lunacy. But for years now, I’ve also been saying Bitcoin’s a fine alternative to gold for that 10% position. Why not? I think the federal budget deficit is at impossible levels. I don’t want to be wedded to a currency backed by the full faith and credit of a country that owes $36 trillion.”

Cramer also acknowledged that some people might have gone all-in on Bitcoin and praised their decision. However, he recommended balancing Bitcoin investments with stocks. For instance, if Trump were to make a move to encourage buying Tesla, Cramer commented, having both stocks and crypto would give investors an edge.

“While we could become the bitcoin network, especially since President-elect Trump christened us as the bitcoin nation, I actually think there’s more to investing than just owning cryptocurrencies… Bitcoin’s part of the most obviously diversified portfolio in recent history. Buying and holding stocks can be just as lucrative as buying Bitcoin six days after Biden dropped out of the race. Or maybe, just maybe, it can make you even more money.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 29 stocks that Cramer was bullish on during episodes of Mad Money aired over the last 2 weeks. We narrowed the list to 10 stocks that were most favored by analysts. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their average analyst price target upside as of December 9. The average price target upside was calculated while the market was open. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q3 database of 900 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA)

Average Price Target Upside: 31.26%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39

Cramer called Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) the “shrewdest operators in the industry” and said:

“I still very much like Coterra Energy, currently the only energy holding in my Charitable Trust… This is another exploration production play, although it’s more balanced between oil and gas. In fact, after a pair of acquisitions announced earlier this month, Coterra’s revenue mix will tip a bit more in favor of oil. Next year, we like to say it’s more oily, less gassy. It does happen to have the lowest cost natural gas of any company in our country and that’s because of the legacy of the old Cabot Oil & Gas which created Coterra when it merged with Cimarex and rebranded the combined company.

I like Coterra Energy because it’s one of the shrewdest operators in the industry. I trust them to handle whatever environment we already have, making it a great long-term holding. When reported late last month, Coterra announced that they’d signed three new liquified natural gas supply agreements to sell a total of 200 million cubic feet per day, indexed to international price points.

Now that’s huge because international price points are much, much higher than domestic ones. The actual sales won’t take place until 2027, 2028. That was a bummer to me, but… Look, they’re gonna unlock a lot of demand and I think it’s going to, it gives it a great, great glide path for the next couple years. When we spoke to Coterra’s CEO Tom Jorden a couple weeks ago, he told us that ‘there’s more of that to do’ and you know what that meant. That meant be patient, he’s gonna do some more deals but no deals that aren’t accretive.”

Coterra (NYSE:CTRA) is an independent oil and gas company involved in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. On December 5, JPMorgan analyst Arun Jayaram raised the stock’s price target to $31 from $29 and maintained an Overweight rating on the stock. The firm anticipates that natural gas producers will benefit from “three key secular demand trends” in 2025: the expansion of liquefied natural gas export capacity, growing power demand due to electrification, and the shift from coal to gas.

JPMorgan also updated its exploration and production models through 2030, supporting its view of long-term gas prices remaining above $3.50 per MMBtu. The firm believes prices must rise to encourage additional supply growth from the Haynesville and other higher-cost gas basins. Furthermore, JPMorgan expects the oil market to transition from balanced in 2024 to a surplus in 2025 due to increased supply, prompting a shift to a “more defensive stance.”

In Q3, Coterra (NYSE:CTRA) secured three long-term natural gas sales agreements, starting in 2027-2028, boosting its strategy with exposure to international LNG markets. In November, the company also announced $3.95 billion in acquisitions from Franklin Mountain Energy and Avant Natural Resources, expanding its presence in New Mexico and the Permian Basin. These acquisitions are expected to add 60,000 to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025, with the deals closing in Q1 2025.

Overall CTRA ranks 1st on our list of the best Jim Cramer stocks according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of CTRA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CTRA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.