On Thursday’s episode of Mad Money, host Jim Cramer made a clear distinction between two forces shaping the markets and commented on mega-cap stocks.

“I’m talking about the extreme dichotomy between focusing on a body of wisened economists who are being pushed around by a president who wants to run the central bank and focusing on the free ruling capitalism of the semiconductor business, with some bizarre federal intrusions in the age of artificial intelligence. That dichotomy plays out every day around here, including this one.”

READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Recently Shared His Thoughts on These 12 Stocks and Jim Cramer Commented on 7 Stocks and the Recent Fed Meeting.

Cramer pointed out that much of the market’s movement is dictated not by the performance of individual companies, but by how index funds react to shifts in the bond market. He explained that the bulk of invested capital is in these index funds, which move in lockstep with interest rates rather than company fundamentals. He said, “When interest rates go up, the indices tend to go down.” He added that despite this tight linkage, most people are only told to invest through index funds that respond directly to what the Federal Reserve does.

However, Cramer stressed that it does not have to be the case for all investors. He mentioned that individuals are fully capable of selecting and owning individual stocks, especially mega-cap technology names, that are not necessarily bound by movements in the federal funds rate. He argued that these large-cap companies often operate independently of central bank policy, and investors who ignore them in favor of passive index investing may be missing significant opportunities.

“The bottom line: If you want to make money in the market, you have to recognize that mega-cap stocks are their own animals and don’t have to be linked to the federal funds rate. If you want to ignore them and focus solely on some index fund… that marches to the tune of the Fed, be my guest, but I sure wouldn’t recommend it. You can do both. That’s right. It’s easier than walking and chewing gum at the same time.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 12 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on September 18. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the second quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 900 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’s Recent Takes on These 12 Stocks

12. LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently gave takes on. Commenting on the company’s eyedrops, VIZZ, Cramer said:

“Overall, I’m inclined to believe that there’ll be enough patients eager to try the product. We’re talking a total addressable market of 128 million people. You don’t need to get that many in order to have a big hit here. Of course, if you buy LENZ here, you’re not early to the story. Stock’s… up nearly 150% from its April lows… If you buy LENZ here, you’re betting that its $1.19 billion market cap doesn’t reflect the true scale of the opportunity. And since I was asked, I’m not against taking a flyer on LENZ at this point, right before they really start pushing the eyedrops.

It would’ve been better to spot this one before, but you have to pay a premium if you’re coming into a biotech name after its key drug has already gotten approval. In the end, I think LENZ Therapeutics has a promising story, and with the recent FDA approval of the company’s lead asset, I’m optimistic that these eyedrops can find their way to a critical mass of patients. I do, again, want to make it clear that with these smaller biotechs, the biggest money is often made during the run-up to approval and not the gains made once the approval occurs.

The bottom line: Maybe these eyedrops for farsightedness fizzle like we saw with AbbVie’s similar product a few years ago, but I’m betting Lens can make this thing work. If the drug’s a success, the stock’s going higher. It might even be a, I don’t know, maybe a takeover target, especially when you consider a big company like AbbVie, coveted the class and the category.”

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ) is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for vision improvement.

11. Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently gave takes on. When a caller mentioned the company’s litigation risk, Cramer commented:

“I don’t think the litigation risk is nearly as bad as people think. This stock is at 4.5%. It’s got new leadership. I don’t want to dump it right here. I just don’t, but I don’t expect a lot of upside here. That’s the problem.”

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) is a consumer health company that provides self-care, skin health, beauty, and essential health products under its brands. Meridian Hedged Equity Fund stated the following regarding Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) is a consumer health company with leading brands like Tylenol, Listerine, and Neutrogena. Spun off from Johnson & Johnson, we see significant opportunities for Kenvue to unlock value by reinvesting in historically underfunded brands, optimizing its cost structure, and improving margins toward peer levels. The stock underperformed in the period due to operational challenges that may slow the turnaround timeline, a new 145% import tariff that negatively impacted margins, and softer-than-expected demand for some of its products. Despite near-term challenges, we continue to believe that the stock appears inexpensive on a sum-of-the-parts basis relative to the quality of its brand portfolio.”