During Thursday’s episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer cautioned investors against letting excessive pessimism shape how they approach the stock market.

“My view, you can be as cynical and corrosive as you want about the vast majority of things in the world in life. But if you’re trying to make big money in the stock market, you’re actually better off being critical and constructive. Reflexive negativity is not a smart strategy, and you’ll most certainly trade yourself into oblivion with very little show for it.”

READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Put These 8 Stocks Under a Microscope Recently and Jim Cramer Commented on These 6 Natural Gas Players.

Cramer pointed out that markets often offer strong opportunities, especially on days when sentiment is low, and if investors remain too skeptical, they miss out. He emphasized that these chances do not appear in isolation; they show up often in what he called “the greatest market in the world.” As per Cramer, many stocks that were once dismissed or “left for dead” ended up rebounding. He noted, “The cynics missed all of these moves,” and went on to say, “You could have caught all of them.”

“So here’s the bottom line: If you examined these same opportunities with a jaundiced eye, too critical, too negative, I know what would’ve happened. You would’ve passed on all of them. But if you were open-minded, if you were constructive, any one of these could easily have made you a boatload of money.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 12 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episodes of Mad Money aired on May 15. 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’s Recent Comments On These 12 Stocks

12. Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

When Cramer was asked about Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) during the episode, he remarked:

“No, FLR. Engineering and construction, we’re going to buy letter J, we’ll buy Jacobs. Now I’ve gotta tell you, the best one happens to be private, which is Bechtel, but the next, we’ll take J, that’ll do it. AECOM is not bad either.”

Fluor (NYSE:FLR) delivers engineering, construction, and project management services across industries like energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and government. The company also offers technical staffing, consulting, and specialized solutions for nuclear, environmental, and low-carbon energy projects. ClearBridge Investments stated the following regarding Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“2024 proved a particularly active year for new idea generation: we added 23 new investments while exiting 29 due to a variety of considerations, including acquisitions, market capitalization constraints, and our assessment of forward return potential. While many of the new investments we made during the year are of relatively modest size, we will continue to build these positions over time provided company execution and end market prospects remain intact. In the fourth quarter we initiated five new investments: Oscar Health, TG Therapeutics, Clearwater Analytics, Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) and Modine.

Fluor is one of the largest engineering, procurement and construction firms, with global scale supporting megaprojects across various end markets. With an improved contract structure mix and balance sheet, the company is poised to benefit from an array of high-priority investment projects in markets such as data centers, GLP-1 manufacturing, mining and nuclear energy.”

11. Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

A caller asked if it was a good time to get into Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO), given the stock’s recent pullback. Here’s what Cramer had to say in response:

“No, I mean look, test and measurement is always going to be letter A. That’s what I like. I like Agilent. I’m not going to change my mind.”

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) designs and builds process control tools and software used in semiconductor manufacturing. The company’s products support metrology, inspection, lithography, and yield management, with additional services like software licensing and spare parts. Invesco Small Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO): The company is a semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer that provides process control solutions for microelectronics manufacturing, including defect inspection, metrology systems and software to enhance yield and reduce costs. The company has benefited from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but weakness during the quarter provided an attractive entry point for the fund.”

10. O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

A caller asked if the upcoming stock split will boost O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ORLY) stock higher. Cramer replied:

“No, and what you want to do is you want to buy the one that’s not going to stock split, which is AutoZone, AZO. Take a look at that chart. Well, you’ll see a real nice move.”

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) supplies aftermarket auto parts, tools, and accessories. The company provides new and remanufactured products, repair services, and support for both DIY customers and professionals working on various domestic and imported vehicles. Recounting stocks that had the biggest gains over the last 20 years in April, Cramer stated:

“The 20th best performing stock in the Mad Money era is the name we know well, it’s called O’Reilly Automotive. It’s up 5,292%. Now, this company, alongside AutoZone, another one I really like, has emerged as a strong duopoly in the auto parts retail space. Why do I like this so much? Okay, you know what I love about it? It’s still fresh.

I recommended it again just three weeks ago. Why? Because I think the auto parts stocks will thrive once the auto tariffs kick in. New cars and used cars will get much more expensive, which means you’ll need new parts to keep your old car on the road. Plus, O’Reilly’s been a voracious buyer of its own stock. Get this, it has shrunk its share count by nearly two-thirds since the end of 2010. Very similar by the way to AZO, AutoZone.”

9. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86

When a caller inquired about ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML), Cramer commented:

“No…. The last couple quarters have been weak, I’ve gotta tell you. By the way, Applied Materials reported a quarter that some people didn’t like tonight. If you want to be in that industry, you have to buy Lam Research. That’s the best one.”

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) builds advanced machines used in semiconductor manufacturing, including lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. The company helps chipmakers produce various types of semiconductors and offers upgrades and technical support for its equipment. Calling the company difficult during April 11’s episode, Cramer said:

“ASML Holding, that’s a Dutch company, is a crucial semiconductor capital equipment business. It also reports and I fear that it will miss as it did last time, causing all the high-end semiconductor stocks to roll over. And by the way, AMAT was up big today. That would go down big if ASML misses. Talk about opaque. I don’t even know if these guys know how they’re doing right now. It is such a complicated company.”

8. The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

Noting big companies’ bullishness toward advertising and the company’s revenue growth, a caller asked what Cramer thinks of The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD). In response, he said:

“You made the right move. Now let me tell you something. They had a self-inflicted issue. In other words, they had a problem, they made a mistake… It was like they were doing a new software that didn’t work initially, and the stock just got crushed. It went all the way down from like $120, down to $60. But I will tell you, it actually went down to $42 at one point in April, that I think all the problems are fixed, and all the things you said that are good, they’re happening. I like your call, I think you’re right. I would actually buy more.”

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) provides a cloud-based platform that lets users manage digital advertising campaigns. The company supports different formats and channels and includes data tools and services to improve ad results.

7. DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65

A caller inquired if Cramer thinks DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) is good, and he replied:

“I’ve gotta tell you, you could say I’ve been too bullish on it. I just really believe that we were, you know, we’re still too far away from football season, but I do genuinely believe that what has to happen is some of these states that don’t have gambling have to get gambling, and that’s what I think it’s really about. I thought it was about the handle. I thought it was about the hold. I’m beginning to think it’s about these states that don’t allow gambling yet that have to.”

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company. It offers online sports betting, casino games, and daily fantasy sports, and operates retail sportsbooks. The company also supplies software for sports betting and casino gaming used by online and retail sportsbooks and iGaming providers.

6. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96

A caller asked what Cramer thinks of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) stock, not the company, in the short term. Here’s what Cramer had to say:

“Costco’s fabulous. I mean, I think Costco may be… I saw that Affirm deal, I was surprised. Costco’s so good that the stock went up $18 on Walmart’s problems. Now that is wrong. First, Walmart doesn’t have any problems. But second, Costco has a better business model because they get all their money from the card. But when I saw that, I said, wow, people are finally starting to get, they get why I think Costco’s so fantastic.”

Costco (NASDAQ:COST) runs a membership-based warehouse business. Through it, the company offers a variety of brand-name and private-label items in bulk at lower prices, targeting shoppers who want to save by buying in larger amounts.

5. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 223

While the stock got brought down due to many investors backing out of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) as the AI data center thesis was considered to be over, Cramer noted that the stock might go higher.

“Or let’s not forget the best of them all, which is NVIDIA. Not long ago, people decided that despite ample evidence to the contrary, the big AI data center thesis was just over, kaput. The Chinese had supposedly come up with a better mousetrap. Remember that DeepSeek issue? The Biden administration put up barriers that prevented NVIDIA from selling chips to most countries. Unbelievable.

Adding insult to injury, the Trump administration put through rules that caused NVIDIA to take a $5.5 billion charge for chips it could no longer sell to China. At that moment, it was easy to believe that NVIDIA’s Cinderella run was just a fairytale, but this story was always reality. Not only did the demand never go away, but now the president’s helping these guys land huge orders from the Gulf monarchies. That’s how a stock runs from $94 to $134 and change in five weeks. And I think it’d go even higher now that Jensen Huang, the CEO, is about to go to Taiwan to spread the GPU Gospel next week. I’m expecting some big orders over there.”

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) develops computing, graphics, and networking solutions used in areas like gaming, AI, data centers, and automotive technology. The company provides hardware, software, and cloud services designed to support advanced computing and enterprise AI.

4. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108

During the recent episode, Cramer discussed that the investors who dropped The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) due to various worries ended up not making money.

“Look, these things occur every day around here. Think about what happened to the stock of Disney in the last few months… A month ago, it was at $82…. People were buzzing about how the theme parks are too expensive. The sports entertainment’s too expensive. The movies are either too woke or not woke enough, depending on who you ask. You never heard anyone say, did it got the right amount? Now, one month later, Disney’s at $112 pretty much in a straight line.

The company reported a terrific quarter. Turns out people are willing to pay top dollar for the theme parks. The sports deals are making plenty of money. And I guess the movies, well, let’s say they hit the Goldilocks level, not too much, not too little. Same company, just written off by the pessimists, the ones who gave up on all that excellent expertise and intellectual property, think of the money that they didn’t make.”

Disney (NYSE:DIS) is a major name in entertainment. The company produces and distributes movies and television content, runs streaming platforms, and operates theme parks and resorts in different parts of the world. It also delivers sports content and organizes live events.

3. The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 103

While Cramer acknowledged that The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) was in hot water, he noted that the company is a way for countries to “extend an olive branch to the White House”.

“Okay… let’s go back to the obvious, Boeing. See, for the longest time, Boeing stock was a pariah because it seemed like they’d forgotten how to make airplanes. Now, we know a couple of things about Boeing. First, it’s one of the only two major aircraft manufacturers in the whole world, the other being Airbus. Second, it had a hideous balance sheet. I mean, just awful… thanks to all the accidents in recent years. As long as it was hobbled by a bad balance sheet, the stock was too dangerous to own, and you were right to be critical.

But in October of last year, Boeing used the capital markets as they are intended, tapping investors for $24.3 billion in stock and bonds. They sold… 112.5 million shares at $143. That was enough to put the balance sheet, let’s say, on even keel so that the company could start playing offense. Now, Boeing just won the biggest order…. It’s a deal the president helped broker when he was in the Gulf.

Every country we trade with wants to extend an olive branch to the White House, and the easiest way to do that is by placing gigantic orders with Boeing. Now the stock’s at $206. The stock rallied more than $60 from its lows last fall. You just needed to be sure the balance sheet was fixed, and suddenly, the loser became a winner, much to the cynic’s dismay.”

Boeing (NYSE:BA) focuses on designing, building, producing, and promoting various products. including commercial airplanes, military jets, satellites, missile defense systems, and space exploration projects.

2. CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A

Cramer noted that people backed away from CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) because of fears, but they ended up missing out on a great company.

“Now let’s talk CoreWeave, the one that was probably the hardest to get…. This company came public at the end of March at $40. It was almost like a forced IPO, they had to get it done. Before the IPO, everyone thought this was a red-hot story, but then Wall Street gave up on the entire AI edifice, and people lost interest in this deal. It had to be downsized. And by the way, it also come at a much lower price because people were so skeptical of its business model…

But as people got more comfortable with it, they realized that CoreWeave was actually doing incredibly well, something that the people at NVIDIA confirmed. NVIDIA is a big investor in CoreWeave, and it seems like the relationship is very strong… We kept pounding the table, knowing that CoreWeave’s business was doing great the whole time. A few weeks ago, the stock bottomed, and by last night, it had roared to $67. When the company reported last night, everything I said would happen, happened, and the stock initially rallied hard… although eventually it pulled back because management plans to invest heavily to meet sky-high levels of demand, and people are freaked out by that.

Still, the stock’s basically doubled since late April when I told you you had to buy it. People were just too cynical and uninformed about the prowess of the scrappy company, and it gave the constructive and optimistic among us a much better opportunity to buy than anyone thought possible, as recently as the month before the IPO.”

CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) runs a cloud platform focused on GenAI. The company’s services include compute, storage, networking, AI model training, VFX rendering, mission control, infrastructure tools, and lifecycle management features.

1. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 116

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was mentioned during the episode, and here’s what Cramer had to say:

“I want to start with today’s trading. This morning, Walmart, largest retailer in the world, reported, and the stock initially rallied on the strength of their results…. But then management was cautionary about tariffs, don’t blame them, and the need to raise prices on the conference call, don’t blame them, and the stock very quickly reversed and dropped six points from its peak before the market opened. Now, I have to tell you, that reaction staggered me….

I’m positive that Walmart… will be a winner because of its dominance in the trenches. Its expertise, its sourcing, its inventory management, those are second to none. I mentioned that their balance sheet gives them a level of flexibility that the other retailers most certainly don’t have with the exception of Costco. Walmart can be tough with suppliers because they’ve got more bargaining power than any other store on Earth, because they’ve got that scale.

And let’s not forget that a quarter of their profits come from advertising, amazing gross margins there, and membership income. That’s an unassailable set of qualities equaled only by Cramer fave, Costco. These advantages aren’t going away because of the tariffs. If anything, I think they’re going to be accentuated. Tariffs are a problem for the entire industry, but Walmart’s one of the rare companies that can cope. Sure enough, the stock rallied… and [is] almost back to even. And I think the cynics who don’t believe that Walmart can handle this moment, they are destined to be losers.”

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is a retail company. The company sells many types of products, including groceries, health supplies, electronics, clothing, and store-brand items.

While we acknowledge the potential of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) 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 time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WMT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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