Last Wednesday, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, questioned whether the market was still following a clear and predictable business cycle, suggesting there were “huge conflicting currents” that made the economy difficult to navigate. Reflecting on his early days in the industry, Cramer explained that back then, understanding the business cycle was important.
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“If business was too strong, the Fed might raise rates, pull things off. If business was too weak, you might have some rate cuts. You always had to pay attention to these things, right, because you didn’t wanna fight the Fed.”
But on that particular day, with the Dow gaining 71 points, the S&P advancing by 0.24% to reach a new all-time record, and the Nasdaq edging up by 0.07%, Cramer began to reconsider whether the traditional concept of the business cycle had become outdated.
Cramer went on to highlight the puzzling movements in specific sectors, especially food and beverage and drug stocks, which showed some unexpected gains. These industries, often seen as immune to economic cycles, seemed to defy the typical patterns.
He pointed out that in light of the current administration’s stance on food policy, especially with a health and human services secretary who has expressed disdain for processed foods and vaccinations, it was not just a cycle affecting these sectors anymore, it felt more like a targeted attack on the industries themselves. Cramer wondered, “What if RFK Jr. wakes up tomorrow and says, ‘I’m banning Fruit Loops’ or stopping weight loss shots?”
“I mean, everyone in this administration seems to think that the federal government could do whatever it wants. That’s not, that’s not how our system works or at least it’s not how the Constitution says it works, but the blight’s very much with us, even with today’s reprieve.”
Jim Cramer Recently Shed Light on These 9 Stocks
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 9 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on February 19. 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 Recently Shed Light on These 9 Stocks
9. AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16
AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO) manufactures and distributes a wide range of agricultural equipment, including tractors, harvesters, seed-processing systems, and livestock production equipment, along with implements and systems used for planting, soil cultivation, and crop protection.
Cramer mentioned the company during the episode of Mad Money and said, “I think you just go buy the stock of AGCO tomorrow, farm equipment maker, would come on, comes on on the show all the time. Pretty good.”
Over the past year, AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) stock has lost over 10%. Additionally, on February 7, Baird analyst Mircea Dobre reduced the price target for the company stock to $116 from $119 while maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock. The firm stated that the first half of 2025 will largely depend on progress in destocking.
8. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57
Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) manufactures and distributes a wide range of equipment, including tractors, harvesters, mowers, and construction machinery, while also providing financial services related to equipment sales and leases. Mentioning the company, Cramer said, “Then there’s the Ag cycle. Deere stock can’t stop.”
Deere (NYSE:DE) recently reported a decline in financial performance for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, with net income dropping to $869 million, or $3.19 per share, down from $1,751 million, or $6.23 per share, in the same quarter of 2024. The company saw a 30% decrease in worldwide net sales and revenues, which amounted to $8.508 billion, compared to $12.155 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Net sales for the quarter were $6.809 billion, a significant drop from $10.486 billion in the prior year.