We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Looked At These 23 Stocks Recently. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer looked at recently.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, offered an optimistic perspective on the market on Thursday as he challenged the prevailing pessimism among some on Wall Street. He highlighted the diverse range of sectors showing gains.
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Cramer observed that when investors are focused on long-standing winners, like tech stocks, it can be easy to miss when their dominance starts to wane. Cramer expressed his hesitation to part ways with tech given its long-term success but he pointed out something surprising as he reviewed the top-performing sectors.
“But when I scroll through the winning sectors for the year, I am struck by how they represent a wide array of groupings that aren’t tethered to any particular economic worldview.”
Cramer noted that neither the outlook of a recession nor predictions of a major slowdown could explain the growth seen in sectors beyond tech and communication services. He discussed that this year’s leaders are not only unexpected but in some cases, they seem counterintuitive. He described them as “broad,” in the sense that they span a wide range of industries, each responding to different economic conditions. He highlighted that these sectors that are performing well now have been largely overlooked for years, as tech has long dominated the spotlight.
Cramer said that for a long time, market participants had hoped for a rally that would extend beyond the tech sector, and now it seems to be happening. However, he remarked, “except you can’t call it a rally anymore.” He went on to say that a day like Thursday, in his view, was a sign of a healthy market despite the constant narrative of trouble in the economy.
“But the bottom line: It’s tricky to see such a broad mixture of stocks winning here, from ones that can run in a recession to ones that can rally hard in a robust economy. What it tells me is that the market may be far healthier than we think, and this backdrop simply isn’t as bad as many would have you believe.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 23 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 27. 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).
A pharmacist discussing the health benefits of a prescription medication with a customer.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
On Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:WBA) decision to go private, Cramer commented:
“Walgreens has made a comeback too, but it’s going private. Consider that one done. Do not want to own that. Do not want to buy it, whatever.”
Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail business. It provides services including retail drugstores, health and wellness products, pharmacy care, and specialty services. Ariel Investments stated the following regarding Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Also in the quarter, we re-initiated our position in retail drugstore operator, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) following the wash sale period for tax loss selling. Recent news reports suggest there is potential interest by a PE firm to take WBA private. We believe the strategic value of WBA’s nationwide footprint and future growth opportunities has substantial upside at today’s valuation. We did not exit any positions in the quarter.”
Overall, WBA ranks 9th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer looked at recently. While we acknowledge the potential of WBA 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 WBA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.