Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, discussed the current state of business cycles last Wednesday, emphasizing how they were far from synchronized. He pointed out that different sectors were performing in contradictory ways, making it difficult for the Federal Reserve to determine its next move. While some industries are flourishing, others are struggling, and a few appear to be in serious decline.
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Cramer said that the chaotic landscape created a curious backdrop for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, which continued to reach new highs, even as challenges persisted beneath the surface. Cramer noted that many of the stocks in these major indices were performing particularly well at the moment.
“And that’s why it feels so weird that the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 keep bumping up to new highs and yet so much bad is happening underneath. So many of the stocks in these indices are simply not that hot, including even some of the Mag seven. But that could change on a dime.”
Cramer also warned that the market could shift dramatically if the president takes action, a move he has been known to make frequently, for better or worse. According to Cramer, such actions could completely disrupt entire business cycles. Despite the overall market uncertainty, Cramer identified one clear winner: the travel and leisure sector.
“The most insanely positive cycle out there is travel and leisure. This one’s mostly a holdout from the days of COVID when we discovered that we were long on money and short on time. I think the best of the bunch are all worth buying into weakness. The airlines are breathtaking. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Jim Cramer Suggested Buying These 8 Stocks on Weakness
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 8 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 Suggested Buying These 8 Stocks on Weakness
8. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
Highlighting that travelers use American Express Company’s (NYSE:AXP) services, Cramer said:
“Need a way to pay, need a way to book? Okay, that means buying Expedia, Booking Holdings, while using your American Express card. They have no quit in them.”
American Express (NYSE:AXP) provides a variety of payment services, such as credit and charge cards, banking, expense management, travel, and merchant solutions, along with fraud protection and customer loyalty initiatives. Recently, Cramer talked about the trend of the stock getting hit when it reports but then sees gains afterward.
“I’ve seen this happen endlessly with American Express, AXP, too. It’ll creep up and the fact that the millennials and the gen-whatevers love it, and then it reports on a sleepy Friday, it always reports on Friday, and everyone runs from it like it’s got the bubonic plague. But two weeks later, American Express is up from where it was before the quarter and people have forgotten why they sold it.”
7. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99
Talking about Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the episode, Cramer said:
“Need a way to pay, need a way to book? Okay, that means buying Expedia, Booking Holdings, while using your American Express card. They have no quit in them.”
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) is a major provider of both online and traditional travel services, as well as restaurant reservations and other related services. Over the past 12 months, the company stock rose over 43%. Back in October 2024, Cramer commented:
“Here’s one that makes a big splash every time. It’s called Booking Holdings. Yes, the old Priceline. It’s been ages since this company didn’t have a smashing quarter. Then everybody speculates about whether the consumer is still traveling.”
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