In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer commented on how industrial stocks were performing well while broader markets struggled due to tariff uncertainty and legislative troubles in Congress. “And by the way, the industrials. It looks like the industrial companies were able to do things to mitigate, Cramer said. He added to “not forget” that mega home improvement retailers were able to tamp down on price increases.
Commenting on President Trump’s bill, Cramer pointed out: “Well I think that the tax break, except for the ultra-rich, is not as good in many ways as if interest rates were to go down.”
He continued:
“Yeah look I mean we’re churning until we get the bill, I think that’s fine. We’re working off the overbought. I think everyday you come in you’re a little down, you know like 4 o clock this morning oh my god it’s so ugly, drenched in red, nothing happened. . . .but there’s just a propensity right now to say listen, the ten year’s going, the rate’s going higher, let’s just continue to sell stocks. David, it’s indiscriminate. It’s indiscriminate. It really doesn’t matter how companies do in yesterday or a day like today.”
However, while he believes that the bill does provide tax breaks for the wealthy, Cramer also not only attributed market uncertainty to the legislation but also commented on its ability to induce growth. He remarked:
“By the way, I would say garden variety retreat based on the fact that we have no idea what’s really going to happen with this bill. And therefore we do worry, that perhaps as we always do, that it’s very inflationary. I think it’s very pro growth. I think it’s very very pro growth.”
Our Methodology
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired on May 21st.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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).”
12. Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GOOS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 14
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GOOS) is a Canadian retailer that sells high-end apparel. Its shares have gained 18.5% year-to-date primarily due to a 32% jump in May. Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GOOS)’s stock soared after the firm’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings beat analyst estimates by a wide margin. During the quarter, the firm reported C$0.33 in adjusted earnings to top analyst estimates of C$0.23 and C$384 million in revenue to beat C$356.4 million in estimates. The stock caught Cramer’s attention as its shares rose. Here’s what he said:
“That’s good. They’ve been, terrific. Dani Reiss’s a terrific guy. That’s been a very tough one to won.”
The recent appearance wasn’t the first time Cramer mentioned Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GOOS) in his show. Last year in May, after a strong earnings report, the CNBC TV host advised viewers against buying the shares. Since then, Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GOOS)’s stock has lost 5.9% despite the major gains earlier this month. Here’s what Cramer had said in May 2024:
“I’m going to tell you — I’m going to put my trading hat on. When I see a company report that kind of number — that good — and it doesn’t go up, I say ‘ain’t nothing going to get this thing going. Let’s stay away.”
11. The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 39
The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) is one of the most frequently discussed retail stocks by Cramer. The firm’s shares have gained 20.5% year-to-date as they have benefited from the successful results of the firm’s ongoing turnaround strategy. Through its new strategy, The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) aims to lower its operating costs by reducing the number of brands in its portfolio and business inefficiencies. In his previous comments about the firm, Cramer has remarked that the firm isn’t as reliant on China for its goods as others. Here are his recent thoughts about The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP):
“But the one that is the star is GAP. Richard Dickson, people are finally realizing he’s doing great work. The stock went down to 19 during the last selloff. . . the stock went to 19, it’s now up to 28, it’s back to where it was. But that also ruins it a little because it’s going up. . .again we’re just in the law of this bill. And I’m just not going to say that you can buy stocks when we’re in the law.”
The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) is a frequent feature of Cramer’s morning show. He has commented on the firm’s turnaround strategy several times. He has also mentioned the firm’s China exposure. Here’s what he said after The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP)’s fourth-quarter earnings report:
“How about the trade war though? Won’t President Trump’s volatile trade policy crush The Gap like it’s crushing everybody else in the business? Look, this company gets less than 10% of their products from China with less than 1% coming from Canada and Mexico. On the cost side, they’re fine. The only worry is that the trade war wrecks consumer confidence and crushes the entire economy, which does seem like a possibility at this point. But as I said repeatedly, I think the Federal Reserve will start cutting rates at that point in order to prevent a recession.
When I asked Dickson about the concerns surrounding the health of consumer, he emphasized that what Gap’s been doing to reinvigorate their brands is resonating with customers and their ability to gain market share in declining industry makes him feel pretty confident about the future of the business. I think he’s probably right. Even if the company gets hit with some near-term turbulence, I like it.”
10. Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 47
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) is a diversified American oil and gas company. The firm operates in the chemicals, oil refining, storage, and transportation industries. It made its way to Cramer’s morning appearance as activist Elliott Investment managed to secure two seats on the firm’s board. Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s shares dropped by 7.5% on the news as investors weighed whether Elliott’s demands of business unit spinoffs would generate uncertainty for the firm’s future cash flows. For his part, Cramer attributed the fall to an overreaction:
“[On share price movement after activist investor Elliott won two board seats] Yeah that’s a reaction. I think there are people who felt that there could be an immediate transaction or something which was never the case. I think that’s an overreaction. Not a great group right now but it’s an overreaction.”
Cramer has discussed Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) several times this year. For instance, in May he remarked that the firm was being unfairly treated as an oil company while it was a refiner instead. In January, he praised Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s business acumen after the firm bought NGL assets for $2.2 billion. Here’s what Cramer said:
“And listen, that’s not even an exhaustive list of M&A activity this week. Well, on Monday, Phillips 66 announced a deal to acquire certain privately held natural gas infrastructure assets for over $2 billion… Looking at the transactions we’ve seen just this week, while some of them likely would’ve been challenged by Biden’s ideologically driven regulators, most of them seem pretty justifiable. All of them make great business sense…”
9. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 56
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is another commonly discussed retail stock on Cramer’s morning show. Throughout the course of this year, the CNBC TV host has maintained that Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) will struggle to compete with retail giant Walmart on the cost front. He also believes that not only does the firm have a significant portion of its products come through imports but also that Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) needs to lower prices to 2018 levels. Here are Cramer’s latest thoughts about Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) which followed the firm’s latest earnings report:
“Right but Brian was very upset. Wanted to do much better. Recognizes that frankly that his prices might be too high. Has to discount more. . .look, let’s just call it. It was a bad quarter. Now I know when I pressed him on these DEI issues when there was backlash, he did not say there was. And I just went back and asked about the conference call that they just did with reporters and again, he’s just insisting that it’s not really, it’s not, just not mentioning it as being a factor. I find that, surprising. But David, the problem with Target I think, and I’m gonna come back. . .is scale.
“They did buy back a lot of stock. . . they must have had much more faith than the street. You know they bought back 2.2 million shares at a 114 dollars a share. I would have never done that. Plays down any backlash from DEI. But the most important thing here, Carl, I just find is, this has been a, become a typical thing that Target has become a serial disappointer.
“I am questioning, how well it’s doing. It’s not big enough. They’re not opening a lot of stores, it’s part of urban strategy that seemed just okay. There were issues even, you know, off of George Floyd, but they recovered very quickly. . . .But I think that that’s more, if you might show some others, yeah Walmart’s really good too, TJX is really good too.
“Go look at the prices, when I. . .would walk with Brian through a Target store, I said this is too high, this is too high, this one’s too high. Where is the 2019? How about 2019 prices? I know that right now Walmart’s got some 2019 prices.
“Look, when you put up a chart of Dollar Tree, Dollar General, not Dollar Tree. Dollar General, I think that if Target can really lower price, you can have a kind of a conversion of. . .
“I’ve gone over this with Brian many times. I think everyone loves to go to Target. They’ve got those great brands that are their own. They have to cut price, cut price, cut price. They have no choice. They have to cut price.
8. CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 63
CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) is one of the largest railroad companies in America. The firm’s stock performance depends on economic activity and is down by 4% year-to-date. However, CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX)’s shares have gained 7% since early May. The shares have benefited from a broader rally in railroad stocks that kicked off at the start of the month. The stocks gained after trade tensions between the US and China appeared to thaw and investors bet on railroads on the promise of greater economic activity. Cramer’s previous comments about CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) remarked that investors appeared to forgive the firm for weak performance. Here are his recent remarks:
“And then Joe Hinrichs from CSX. I mean we have to know what the rail’s are saying. Because again I think that April’s a weak month. And we’re gonna have to, a lot of these quarters that we’re hearing they ended at March. March was still good because of pre Liberation Day.”
River Road Asset Management mentioned CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) in its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“As of December 31, the portfolio held 29 positions, up four positions from Q3. During Q4, the largest sector increase was 736 bps within industrials, while the largest decrease was -276 bps within consumer discretionary. We established five new positions and eliminated one position
We also initiated a position in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX), 2.5 conviction), the largest Class 1 railroad on the transcontinental freight rail lines in the Eastern U.S. with access to two-thirds of the U.S. population. The company operates within a duopoly market structure on the east coast characterized by substantial barriers to entry, primarily due to its non-replicable and highly dense network infrastructure. This dynamic position has enabled CSX to demonstrate robust pricing power resulting in significant margin expansion of over 2,000 bps since 2007. CSX may benefit from several tailwinds including the anticipated growth in merchandise carload volumes, the ongoing trend of onshoring, and the potential recovery in the truck market, which is expected to bolster CSX’s intermodal business segment. If volumes improve, future return could be even better. While the railroad industry is capital intensive, CSX generates substantial free cash flow that can potentially be used to support significant capital returns. Since 2007, CSX has repurchased 45% of its outstanding shares and consistently increased its dividend at a CAGR of 13%.”
7. Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 65
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) is one of the largest hospital operators in America. Cramer rarely comments on the firm, and this particular show was the first time he mentioned Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) his year. The firm’s shares are up by 30% year-to-date as it has benefited from a strong fiscal first-quarter report issued at the end of April. Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC)’s fiscal first quarter saw the firm report $4.36 in earnings per share and $5.22 billion in revenue. Both of these beat analyst estimates of $3.17 and $5.14 billion. However, in his comments, Cramer warned about the impact of lower medical spending on the firm:
“The ones I’m [inaudible] worried about, I’m worried about. . . Tenet on the cutback in Medicaid. Because [it thrives] on Medicaid. . . .because they’re gonna delay reimbursement or they’re going to lower reimbursement. Because Medicaid, Medicaid is cut back.”
Meridian Funds mentioned Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) in its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) is one of the top ten U.S. operators of hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, and healthcare business process services. We initiated our position in late 2022, believing that the market’s short-term focus on COVID related staffing and admissions challenges overshadowed the value of Tenet’s long-term strategy of growing outpatient surgery centers. Tenet’s execution in 2024 has been very strong, guided by consistent patient growth and the accelerated shift to outpatient surgery following its hospital divestitures. However, the stock experienced a sell-off during the quarter, driven by market concerns over new administration policies and weaker hospital admissions data from the late flu season. We view the sell-off as another example of market overreaction to near-term headlines overshadowing the company’s long-term value creation strategy. In terms of position management, we had reduced our holding by nearly one-third prior to the sell-off on expectations that earnings growth—while still robust—would decelerate into 2025. As of period end, we see the valuation as compelling to hold given the long-term growth strategy in outpatient services—an area not likely to be affected by new administration policies.”
6. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 70
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW), along with Home Depot, is a dominant player in the American home improvement retail market. The firm’s shares have lost 10% year-to-date as it struggles in a weak market driven by high interest rates and pessimistic consumer sentiment. During its first-quarter earnings report in May, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)’s continued to struggle in the weak environment. It warned that consumers were not making expensive purchases and this trend could continue in the second quarter. Cramer commented on the broader weakness in the retail sector:
“By the way the retail group is total chaos today. . .Lowe’s is down. I thought Lowe’s had a good quarter.”
Cramer has discussed Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) several times this year. Most of these have seen him analyze the firm simultaneously with its peer Home Depot. For instance, here’s what he said in March:
“Marvin Ellison, go[ing] back and forth with him, this was an excellent quarter. Particularly considering rates, although the rates have come down a little bit. And the lack of housing turnover which is typically been the key metric because when there’s housing turnover you go to Lowe’s, you tend to rehabilitate, you make it so you renovate. I was struck by the fact that the numbers were [inaudible] are improving. Because Lowe’s is of the [inaudible] of do it yourself. We had good pro numbers from Home Depot, good pro numbers from Lowe’s, something could be on here David. It is not as bad as feared. These two companies are excellent.
“. . and their [Home Depot] numbers were good, in this environment. Now you gotta look, if you looked at Home Depot, or this, I mean, look everyone was, there was a lot of short money betting against these. I think that when you have a stock that goes down like this you should rethink. But I liked, I liked them.
“I’ve always liked . . .ever since Marv came in. And the Home Depot team, Ted Decker, look these teams, remember these guys take a lot of share too from the mom’s . . .there’s still mom and pop hardware stores that they take. And remember, you’re betting against now they’re Christmas Season, which is going to be, the garden season. Appliances still bad every where.”
5. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 73
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) has been a regular feature of Cramer’s morning show this year. He believes that the firm’s new CEO has a lot of work to do to turn around its business. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE), according to Cramer, struggled under previous management and lost market share in its key markets. The firm’s shares have lost 18.5% year-to-date, and Cramer has attributed some of the weakness in the shares to NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s exposure to China. Here are his latest thoughts about the firm:
“Nike’s fine taking a break from the like, from being like a juggernaut from the 54 level.”
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s China exposure is a facet of the stock that Cramer has discussed frequently this year. For instance, in April he remarked that the firm had done nothing wrong and had diversified its supply chain away from China. Yet, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) suffered as the Trump administration announced tariffs on Vietnam too. Here’s what Cramer said later in the month:
“Well, I’ll tell you, you got Elliot Hill there. He’s an old hand. You have a 2.8% yield, but it is from China, it is China. The stock’s still $82 billion. Maybe it shouldn’t be $82 billion. I think the stock’s going to do very little. We own Starbucks for the Charitable Trust, and a lot of people feel that’s the same way, and I think Starbucks is a better company than Nike. So, just to understand that if it’s got China in it, people just say [sell, sell, sell] and then there’s nothing more to say.”
4. The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 74
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is the off-price retailer whose shares have gained a modest 3.8% year-to-date. However, May has been full of trouble for the firm as the stock has lost 6.8% since the firm’s first-quarter earnings report. As part of the results, The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) highlighted its struggles with weak consumer sentiment that other retailers are battling as well. It warned that merchandise it had on order before President Trump’s tariff announcements would suffer from price hikes in the second quarter. In his previous remarks, Cramer cautioned viewers to not read too much into the post-earnings share price weakness as the stock always behaves that way. Here are his recent thoughts about The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX):
“Against that, TJX did a solid beat and raise and as always, they guided lower. TJX usually goes down two to three points, but its four today. And then goes down maybe a point tomorrow. And by the end of next week, not his week, it could be at 136.
“They actually had the best comps.”
One key aspect of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) that Cramer has regularly discussed in his morning show is the firm’s ability to benefit from tariffs. The CNBC host believes that the retailer can find itself in a position to buy excess inventory in the US due to over-ordering generated by tariffs. Here’s what Cramer said about The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) in April immediately after the Liberation Day announcements:
“But let me give an example about what I say the market’s wrong. You gotta be careful. TJX is the principal beneficiary. Because everyone’s gonna take in a lot of inventory because they’re trying to get in fast. And then they won’t be able to sell everything so they’ll give it to TJX. That is what I call a winner. Okay.”
3. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 81
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is the largest carbonated beverage company in the world. Cramer has discussed the firm several times this year. In April, he wondered whether the firm’s shares could stick with their momentum as they had managed to weather the storm in the consumer products sector. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)’s peer Pepsi has struggled recently as weight loss drugs change the firm’s end-market. The shares are up by 16% year-to-date and have gained 3.8% in May. The gains appear to have come on the back of lowering trade tensions between the US and China. Here are Cramer’s recent comments about The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO):
“I actually like Coke, Coke may be coming back [in] market share.”
As markets sold off in April after the tariff announcements, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO’s shares actually gained 3% to reflect the firm’s defensive nature. In fact, the share price gain reflected Cramer’s prescience as he had remarked before the tariff announcements:
“In terms of shorting, like if you wanna short, do you short Coca-Cola? No, cause Coca-Cola in 2000, after the NASDAQ broke, was really a terrific stock to own.”
“Look at that April 14th to April 17th 2000 period when we had this dramatic switch. Which was rather incredible, which was the fastest I’ve seen where Coca-Cola went from being a loser to a winner. I think we’re there. Coca-Cola’s having a good quarter.”
2. HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 81
HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) is a mega-American hospital operator. Unlike its peer Tenet Healthcare, Cramer has discussed the firm in 2025. He remarked in March that he believed the shares had been punished enough. Since Cramer’s comments, HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s shares have gained 11.9%. The stock jumped by 4.9% in mid-May as while Republicans did share their estimates to reduce healthcare spending, the reduction wasn’t as drastic as some feared. However, a drop in spending is still on Cramer’s mind when it comes to HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA). Here’s what he said:
“The ones I’m [inaudible] worried about, I’m worried about HCA. . .on the cutback in Medicaid. Because [it thrives] on Medicaid. . . .because they’re gonna delay reimbursement or they’re going to lower reimbursement. Because Medicaid, Medicaid is cut back.”
L1 Capital mentioned HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“HCA Healthcare, Inc.’s (NYSE:HCA) share price partially rebounded in the March 2025 Quarter, and was the only company to positively contribute over 1% to the Fund’s quarterly returns. We outlined in the December 2024 Quarterly Report that HCA’s share price had over reacted to concerns that healthcare policy under the Trump administration would be materially adverse for HCA. We took advantage of the market concerns to add to our investment in HCA at a share price well below our assessment of fair value, and it was pleasing to see a partial recovery in the share price during the March 2025 quarter. Six other companies each positively contributed 0.5% or greater to the Fund’s returns, across a diverse range of industries. We believe our unique approach to assessing quality businesses of varying size across a number of diversified sectors provides the opportunity to deliver strong risk adjusted returns in a range of market conditions.
As mentioned earlier, we added to HCA when its share price was below our assessment of fair value. With HCA’s share price increasing substantially, both absolute and relative to market movements, we have recently trimmed the holding. HCA remains one of the Fund’s larger investments.”
1. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 83
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is an American cybersecurity company. Its sector has been a top Cramer pick in 2025 as others struggle with tariffs. The CNBC host believes that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) and other cybersecurity firms have almost negligible exposure to tariffs. He also believes that the age of AI has increased the importance of these companies. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s shares have gained a modest 3.3% year-to-date. In his previous comments, Cramer commented that the firm has a habit of losing share price value no matter how great it performs. Here are his latest thoughts which came after the earnings report:
“Okay so Palo Alto did not, you know they beat it, but they did not raise. Now there’s a history of them doing that. I do think that this is an overreaction. I do think that, remember I said April was a tough month in this country. But this is the opportunity, now this is another one, this one usually goes down between seven and ten percent. Then it stabilizes tomorrow and by next week it starts going up. That’s the pattern. And you know look I can just tell you that’s a correct analysis or I can tell you that what happens everytime. TJX, same thing. These companies do not put themselves in harm’s way. They do not raise big because they know that that’s going to lead to sadness.
“Yeah look I just think that it’s business as usual there. It’s AI. They have this, they are all in on AI and you have to be. And the threats are as horrible as ever. But at the same time, if you do not raise, the next quarter, especially when it’s the end of your fiscal year, then your stock gets hit. That’s the game. That’s just the game. We know that.”
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