We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Put These 12 Stocks Under the Spotlight. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed.
On Friday’s episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer reflected on a significant shift in market sentiment over the past week as he described how the mood turned from cautious to confident.
“We often speak of moments when the stock market tends to do well…. We know that stocks thrive, for instance, when interest rates are going down but there’s another auspicious moment and that’s when the conventional wisdom collectively decides that because of extenuating circumstances, in this case, a welcome break from ever higher tariffs, we’re no longer at risk of a recession in the near future.”
READ ALSO 15 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar and Jim Cramer Recently Commented On These 12 Stocks
Cramer pointed out that this kind of collective pivot in sentiment can be just as impactful as a rate cut. He emphasized that in his long career observing markets, moments like these often mark good entry points for investors. He believes that we are currently in one of those moments.
Looking back on what he called a “very bullish” week, Cramer said it will likely be remembered as the period when Wall Street strategists began to back away from recession warnings. He said that the retreat from doomsday predictions helped fuel a strong rally, especially among industrial stocks.
“If hedge funds thought we were about to experience the apocalypse, and many of them did, then they were poorly positioned coming into this week. And when hedge funds are poorly positioned, you get incredibly motivated buyers like the ones we saw all week that help take us all the way…. And they may not be done with all of their buying, at least because we’re suddenly in a very different world with the pessimists having been caught with their pants down. Until they turn optimistic, which might take a little bit, we should remain in good shape.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 12 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on May 16. 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).
Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
During the lightning round, a caller inquired about Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) and shared their thoughts about the stock going “way higher.” Cramer replied:
“Okay, this is what we need in the country. It’s a trade school and I think that it jives very well with where we are in the economy. So I’m going to tell you, I think it can continue to go higher because it fits the thesis of what we expect in an era of AI and the need to be on your game in non-AI jobs.”
Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI) offers education and training programs in fields like transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare. The company provides certificates, diplomas, and degrees through multiple specialized schools and partners with manufacturers for advanced training. Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) is a leading workforce education provider of skilled trade and healthcare and education programs. UTI trains over 20,000 students annually. Shares jumped on the election results but generated most of the quarter’s return on the company’s strong fourth quarter results. Revenue grew 15% and beat expectations. EBITDA margins have also risen over the past year. Fiscal year 2025 guidance was nudged higher earlier in 2024, driven by the strong new student enrollment UTI is seeing across its markets.”
Overall, UTI ranks 11th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of UTI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UTI and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this 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.
