Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, said on Tuesday that the first days of January trading show how quickly emotions can take control of the market once a new year begins.
“The beginning of the year, a wildly emotional time. What do you got? You got the ride ‘em cowboy crowd that likes to stick with the stocks with the best momentum from the previous year. Then there’s the hope spring eternal contingent that goes for the underperformers, stocks crushed… And you’ve got people who buy the mistaken stocks, perhaps the ones that should never have gone down to begin with. All these buyers are coalescing right now to give you a strong tape.”
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Cramer also noted that some of the activity is due to the artificial intelligence boom, and added that the rapid growth in AI has created a surge in data that the storage industry was not prepared to handle. He noted that the infrastructure simply could not keep up with the sudden demand. He went on to say that he prefers stocks that were wrongly punished over pure momentum plays or turnaround situations. At the same time, he cautioned that the market often favors a choppy, volatile January rather than a calm one, and he expects the emotionally driven trading to persist for a bit longer, given how early it is in the year.
“Here’s the bottom line: We’ve seen these trends last as long as 10 trading days into the new year before we’ve gotten even a sharp correction. It wouldn’t surprise me if that happens again. So if you have big gains, say in Seagate or Western Digital or Sandisk, please don’t be so greedy. It’s time to ring the register tomorrow morning on part of your position. Meanwhile, I say hold on to the turnaround stocks and buy the mistaken identities because they’re the ones that should keep running as we go further into the new year.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 14 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on January 6. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the third quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 978 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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Cramer Shared His Takes on These 14 Stocks
14. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shared his takes on. Cramer highlighted the company’s new CEO during the episode, as he said:
“Interestingly, Steve (Steve Cahillane) just started CEO at another underperforming food company, Kraft Heinz, January 1st. Nobody seems to care, just like no one cared when he took over Kellogg’s. People have written off Kraft Heinz repeatedly, which is supposed to split into two companies in the second half of the year. Now, I’m not sure Steve wants to go with that breakup. What I do know is that he is the right guy to orchestrate this, given how much value he created by breaking up Kellogg, despite what’s supposed to be a very tough environment. Now, I have my doubts when Steve came on the show and announced the split, but my doubts were, let’s say, ill-advised. Maybe he can prove me wrong again on Kraft Heinz.”
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) produces food and beverage products, including condiments, dairy, meals, meats, beverages, and snacks under brands like Kraft, Heinz, Oscar Mayer, and Philadelphia.
13. Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. (NYSE:FBIN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. (NYSE:FBIN) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer shared his takes on. The last caller of the lightning round inquired about Cramer’s thoughts on the stock, and he stated:
“Okay, the problem is that no matter how good, look, Nick Fink is terrific, but no, it doesn’t matter how much he does, it’s still a housing play. That’s why we own Home Depot. I think it’s a better way to own it and Home Depot, you know, has historically went up ahead of when the Fed cuts. So, I’d like to be in that one more than I would like to be in Fortune Brands.”
Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. (NYSE:FBIN) manufactures and sells home and security products, including faucets, doors, decking, locks, and safes.
