On Thursday, Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, discussed the recent rally in the market, which followed several days of significant losses. He attributed the rebound to a combination of strong earnings reports and the White House’s measured approach.
“If you know how to bowl, you made a killing today because we had some of the best pin action off earnings that I’ve seen in ages. It was pure joy as we watched one lead pin after another slash and slam the sticks behind it. Kaboom. Strike after strike after strike. Throw in total radio silence from the White House on anything business-related, and you end up with a nice powerful rally.”
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Cramer acknowledged that several factors contribute to a rally of such a magnitude, including an initial sense of despair that can act as a catalyst. He recalled that just the previous Monday, the White House had reached a new low point when President Donald Trump publicly criticized Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, someone who commands widespread respect on Wall Street. He added:
“So when the president did the unthinkable, at least for him, and he backed off, saying he had no plans to fire Powell, he gave us the fuel we needed for a spectacular rally.”
In addition, Cramer pointed out that some positive news came from an unexpected source, corporate earnings. Cramer enthused that the earnings stood in stark contrast to the pessimism surrounding the economy, especially from the usual bear-leaning hedge fund managers, who had been predicting a recession. He noted that these individuals had warned that companies would soon show signs of significant trouble when their earnings reports came in. Instead, the opposite occurred, with many companies exceeding expectations, adding to the rally.
“Here’s the bottom line: When the White House is dignified or at least silent at the same time that the PRC goes all WWE, while our Jimmy Stewart of the Fed chief gets back to being unsoiled, well then, ladies and gentlemen, that’s a bowler’s bull market. Beware of flying pins, everybody, because the balls are rolling fast and furious, and I don’t see anything that could be left standing.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 7 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on April 24. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment 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’s Thoughts on These 7 Stocks
7. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21
When a caller inquired about Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) during the episode, here’s what Mad Money’s host had to say:
“Man, those guys are real good. You know the reason why its yield is only 3 is because the stock’s actually not come in like so many of the others in the business. I like the stock.”
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) is an alternative asset manager focused on real estate, infrastructure, renewable energy, private equity, credit, and insurance solutions across a range of industries and services. Madison Investments stated the following regarding Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“The top five contributors for the quarter were Liberty Formula One, Arista Networks, Copart, Brookfield Asset Management, and Lithia Motors. Shares in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) advanced nicely as the firm continues to raise funds at a robust clip, showing that despite some slowdown in the overall appetite for alternative investment asset classes, the proven winners can still attract their share of allocations.”
6. Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
A caller asked if they should hold onto Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) or cut their losses, and in response, Cramer remarked:
“No, don’t do it here. It sells at seven times earnings, 3% yield. Look… it doesn’t have the sales that I really like, but I think you can bounce from here.”
Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) designs and sells both traditional and electric motorcycles, parts, and gear, while also offering financing, insurance, and branded credit products. On April 17, Citi reduced its price target on HOG to $23 from $28 and maintained a Neutral rating on the stock. The analyst noted that leisure stocks have been sold off “indiscriminately” following President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement. It has resulted in some sectors, like cruise lines and theme parks, becoming oversold, while others, such as powersports, might not fully reflect the current risk environment.
In a research note, the analyst mentioned that the firm lowered its estimates for the entire leisure sector to account for expected tariff impacts and a potential slowdown in consumer spending. Citi’s tariff outlook suggests that companies will bear the full impact of the tariffs in the second half of 2025. However, companies could reduce this by 50% in fiscal 2026 through a combination of policy changes, mitigation strategies, and exclusions, with an additional 25% reduction expected in fiscal 2027.
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