In this piece, we will look at the stocks that Jim Cramer recently discussed.

In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer commented on the devastation ushered in by the California wildfire calamity, social media CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, and interest rates. Cramer started the show by talking about healthcare stocks and said “Healthcare really hasn’t had much of a move so I think those stocks, honestly a safe haven with interest rates going higher.”

He added that the US government’s export control rules to protect American national security interests were hitting markets hard. According to Cramer “I still expect 5% to hit on the ten-year [bond] but I’ve got to tell you the tone is hideous, I think the tone is being set by the Biden administration, doing a last minute 200-page ruling about who can get AI and who can’t.” He added “And then David, I’ve got to tell you, I think the Zuckerberg interview on Joe Rogan was seminal.” The reason behind it was that Zuckerberg’s thoughts about the firm behind the iPhone indicated “you’re done, nothing since Steve Jobs, one one of the most offensive interviews I’ve heard in a very long time.

Returning to the rate cuts, Cramer asserted again that the Fed had misjudged the economy by lower rates in December. According to him “The whole concept of the rate cuts, as opposed to one or two rate cuts, gotta be off the table because it looks like we’ve had some very serious misjudgment by the Fed.”

As for the fires, Cramer started by stating that there’s “Not enough talk about the fires.” The day this show was aired, he was covering the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. Cramer outlined “I certainly wanna ask everyone at the healthcare conference, what can happen, in terms of public health, what can happen in terms of asthma.” Along with healthcare problems arising from the disaster, he added “But more important as you know, Carl, the loss of life, the destruction, so immense, it’s going to impact the economy. We don’t even know yet, what could be the results.”

One industry that’s been at the center of media coverage whether it’s for disasters or healthcare is the insurance industry. Talking about insurance, Cramer revealed, “Well I have to tell you, the insurance regime out here in California is so strict that you have to wonder why bother to write anything. There’s a loss-sharing agreement that’s terrible, there is a sense to me that it’s going to take longer to come back than people realize. David, the rebuild will be immense, it’s obviously not done.”

He added “And I think that if we’re going to talk about what the economy, what’s going to happen, one-fifth of the country is California. Obviously, this is just the South end, could be contained to Los Angeles. But you know David this is one of those things we can’t really factor in but we must factor in, in terms of trying to figure out what it’s gonna mean for the whole US economy.”

The CNBC host also shared his thoughts on some of the reasons behind the wildfires. “Yeah look I think that we’re gonna look at this, we’re gonna say, there are reasons why this happened. Reservoirs not working. Some issues, whether the firefighters were ready.” Linking the calamity with interest rates, he commented, “But you know Carl the most important this is at least, if we’re going to talk about the economy, if we’re going to talk about the rate cuts versus rate increases, it may be a reason that we have to put things on a pause. Maybe when the smoke clears. Proverbial smoke and literal. It may mean that things are going to be slower.”

Cramer then returned to Zuckerberg’s podcast appearance. According to him “Zuckerberg. I mean I gotta hand it to him, I mean he basically made the Justice Department’s case against” the iPhone designer. He added “It’s almost as if he sat down with, with the outgoing administration, Jonathan Kanter, and said, look let me tell you what I think” the firm is doing. Cramer concluded “Because everything that he’s complaining about, the Justice Department is complaining about. Carl, it was one of the most damming interviews. I couldn’t tell whether Mark was having fun, or whether he was just basically saying Apple is the axis of evil and others that play along because they all are scared. . . And he’s not scared. He’s tough. Taekwondo. .  .it’s a libertarian love fest.”

As for whether Zuckerberg’s remarks were made to buttress his relationship with the incoming Trump administration, Cramer commented “Well he’s, let’s call him savvy. He talked about libertarian, but there were these moments, you know he lives on a ranch, and he has to shoot pigs. Okay, so he’s pro-gun.” However, Cramer added, “At one point, . . .it did have a kind of element of extremism that I’m not used to anyone having.” He also speculated whether Zuckerberg was aware of how he sounded during the interview. According to Cramer:

“And I think that Joe Rogan is sophisticated enough to be able to put a line out for Mark to really go for it. I don’t know whether Mark realizes exactly how damming it sounds, and I think that it’s a little of a shame if only just because he made me feel like that he himself really despises a company that we all love. I wish that there’d been some push back.”

Our Methodology

To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down all the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired recently

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15. Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 32

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) is one of the biggest steel companies in the US. Its shares closed 2024 33% lower as lower steel prices and reduced industrial and construction output due to high interest rates. December was a particularly tough month for Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) as the stock bled more than 18% after the Fed’s interest rate cut guidance suggested fewer cuts this year and the firm’s Q4 midpoint profit guidance of $0.60 per share fell quite short of analyst expectations of $0.90. Cramer believes that Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) can benefit from US Steel being acquired by partnering up with Cleveland-Cliffs as it can buy some assets:

“So I do believe, when you speak to Lorenzo Goncalves, I’m telling you David, he is so close to Trump that I really think that Lorenzo has got it done. I think that this is a very interesting deal. I think it’s fabulous for Nucor. Nucor’s the one that I would buy.”

14. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 34

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) is a biotechnology company that gained global fame due to its coronavirus vaccine. However, since then, the firm has failed to deliver new products. As a result, Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)’s shares have dropped sharply since the pandemic. They have lost 92% since their COVID peak, and the firm is under pressure to deliver new products. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) spends roughly $5 billion on R&D on a trailing twelve-month basis. Cramer is disappointed in the firm and cautioned viewers against rushing to buy it despite the low valuation:

“Uh this Moderna’s so luckless. I mean this time they have to cut numbers, they cut numbers incredibly big. Uh, it, it, it’s from, mostly from COVID again, the shots. But I’ve got to tell you they do have saving grace. They have six billion dollars in cash, almost getting that level. Now these guys just fail to deploy the cash that they had. And it’s, I don’t know what to say, but man, that has just been a falling knight. . . . I think you still have to stay away, numbers are too high by, uh, most of Wall Street.

“[When asked whether MRNA is worth buying due to the low valuation] We have to wait for everybody to cut numbers. And then if you want to look at it. But David, they never made the personalized cancer vaccines that they told me they would just a few years ago when I met them out here at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. Not a good day for many, many stocks, not a good day for Moderna.”