In this article, we discuss the 5 best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Jim Cramer’s investment philosophy, go directly to read the 10 Best Jim Cramer Stocks To Buy Today.
At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, we like undervalued, EBITDA-positive growth stocks, so we are checking out stock pitches like this emerging biotech stock. We go through lists like the 10 best EV stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. Now, let’s take a look at the 5 best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today:
5. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is an American investment banking company that also offers financial services to its consumers. The company stands fifth on our list of the best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today.
Jim Cramer appreciated the wealth advisory service of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and listed it as one of his best stock picks recently. In Q2 2021, the firm posted an EPS of $1.89, beating the estimates by $0.23. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reported revenue of $14.8 billion, showcasing an 8.3% growth from the prior-year quarter. On July 15, the firm increased its quarterly dividend by 100% to $0.70, yielding 3%. In October, Jefferies Financial Group lifted its price target on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to $119, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. Since the beginning of the year, the stock delivered a 46.4% return to shareholders, while it gained 97.16% in the past year.
As of Q2 2021, 69 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey have positions in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), compared with 79 in the previous quarter. These stakes are valued at $$5.34 billion. Eagle Capital Management is the company’s leading shareholder, with shares worth $1.4 billion.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“The Strategy also benefited from strong showings from financials holdings such as recent addition Morgan Stanley, a leading bank holding company offering a variety of financial services worldwide, and one of the largest broker-dealers, investment banks and wealth managers in the U.S. Morgan Stanley has been a leader in helping direct capital to address global sustainability challenges. Its sustainability efforts include capital markets actions such as issuing green bonds and it was early in its support for sustainability in investing and its concern for the environment. Morgan Stanley reported a great quarter with record revenues and strength across the businesses as it works to integrate and find synergies with recent acquisition E*TRADE. Following stress tests for banks, Morgan Stanley increased its dividend and share repurchase plan more than expected.”
4. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stands fourth on our list of the best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today. It is an American multinational technology company that specializes in GPUs for a range of markets. Along with this, the company also manufactures chip units for smartphones and the automotive market.
Recently, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) acquired Oski Technologies, a formal verification firm, which has been NVIDIA’s partner for the past 10 years. This acquisition will enable NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) to expand its investment in formal verification strategies. In October, KeyBanc raised its price target on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) to $260 from $245, with an ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares. Jim Cramer recently noted that the company has the potential to become of the most important semiconductor companies of this time, owing to its leadership. In the past year, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained 46.4%.
Of the 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 86 hedge funds have positions in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in Q2 2021, compared with 80 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $9.09 billion.
Harding Loevner mentioned NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Within IT, shares of US-based computer chip developer NVIDIA continued their climb as rising demand across segments-from work-from-home laptops to data centers to cryptocurrency mining rigs-led to shortages that translated into surging prices for its chips. Such was the windfall that NVIDIA even made technical changes to some of its products to make them towards waht it believes are more sustainable uses. Less attractive to cryptocurrency miners, to steer scarce supply viewed by geography, the lion’s share of excess returns came from good stock performance in the US. In addition to the contributions from NVIDIA and our health care holdings, a pair of IT software and service providers also aided relative returns.”
3. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 94
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is an American financial services company that deals in banking, investment, and mortgage services to its consumers. The company ranks third on our list of the best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today.
In September, Deutsche Bank lifted its price target on Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) to $55, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. In Q2 2021, the company reported total average deposits of $1.44 trillion, versus the estimates of $1.41 trillion. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) posted an EPS of $1.38, beating the estimates by $0.40. Jim Cramer named the firm as one of its best stock picks and he expects it to reach $50 per share soon, as it has been delivering improvements for quite some time now. Since the beginning of the year, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) delivered a 61.6% return to shareholders, while its 12-month returns came in at 86.9%.
As of Q2 2021, 94 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey have positions in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), compared with 96 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $7 billion.
L1 Capital recently published its Q2 2021 investor letter and mentioned Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in it. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Wells Fargo (Long +16%) was the strongest contributor to portfolio performance over the quarter. Wells Fargo shares rallied given a better outlook for bad debts driven by improving employment and house price trends. The company had been very undervalued due to excessive fears around likely bad debts due to the pandemic, the continued regulatory “asset cap” (a punishment that was put in place in 2017 for numerous compliance failures) and an inability to commence buybacks. The share price has subsequently recovered strongly in recent months as the company has progressed its turnaround program under the leadership of the well-regarded CEO, Charles Scharf (former CEO of Visa and BNY Mellon). Wells Fargo is now closer to getting the asset cap lifted and has announced a huge cost out program (US$8b+) as well as an $18b buyback program to be completed over the next 12 months. Wells Fargo shares have rallied more than 50% since we initiated the position in late 2020. Given the strong rally, we elected to exit our position and rotate into stocks with larger valuation upside.”
2. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108
salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) is an American software company, with a focus on customer relationship management (CRM) and also provides cloud-based solutions to its consumers. The company ranks second on our list of the best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today.
In September, RBC Capital lifted its price target on salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) to $325, while maintaining an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares. The firm’s analyst noted the company’s Q1 earnings beat, growth in nearly all segments, and its acquisition of Slack Technologies in a deal worth $27.7 billion. In fiscal Q1 2022, salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) posted an EPS of $1.21, beating the estimates by $0.33. The company’s revenue for the quarter stood at $5.9 billion, showcasing a 22.4% year-over-year growth. In 2021, salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) has delivered a 23.6% return to shareholders.
As of Q2 2021, the number of hedge funds having stakes in salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) grew to 108, from 91 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $11.7 billion.
RV Capital Management mentioned salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Part 5: A New Investment in Salesforce.com
The assertion that mega caps can also be mispriced is a good segue to our second new investment in Salesforce.com. Salesforce is one of the largest software companies in the world with a market value of around US$ 250 bn. It is best known for its customer relationship management or “CRM” solution, known as its Sales Cloud. It has three additional clouds (“Service,” “Marketing” and “Commerce”) as well as a thriving platform business with both owned and 3rd party software solutions.
I first came across Salesforce in 2013. I was invested in Bechtle, a German company that provides companies with their in-house IT. I kept hearing about a strange new concept called “the Cloud” and wanted to get up to speed on the topic in case it was a risk to Bechtle. As a result, I picked up a copy of “Behind the Cloud”. It documents how Salesforce.com pioneered cloud-based software and revolutionised the software industry.
Since then, I have followed Salesforce from a distance and visited it several times in San Francisco. I did not consider it seriously as an investment though as for much of the period, I had not yet overcome my aversion to loss-making companies.
This changed in December last year when Salesforce announced the acquisition of Slack (a former investment of the Business Owner Fund, described in my 2020 half-year letter) for US$ 27 bn. On the date of announcement, Salesforce’s market value fell by around US$ 20 bn. Effectively, the market was saying that Slack was almost worthless, which, as an enthusiastic owner of Slack, I disagreed with. Initially, I decided to keep our Slack stock and roll it into Salesforce (as part of the consideration was in Salesforce’s own stock). As Salesforce’s price fell further in the subsequent months, I bought its stock directly to make it a full-size position post the closing of the Slack acquisition…”
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Holders: 138
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) tops our list of the best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today. It is an American multinational company that specializes in smart devices and also offers software services to its consumers.
In Q2 2021, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported revenue of $81.4 billion, showcasing a 36.4% year-over-year growth. The company’s market share in personal computers stands at 9.3% as the Mac shipment grew by 14.4% to 7.8 million units during the quarter. In October, Morgan Stanley lifted its price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $168, while keeping an ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares. In the past year, the stock gained 15.43%.
As of Q2 2021, 138 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey have positions in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), up from 127 in the previous quarter. These stakes are valued at $145.5 billion. With over 887 million shares, worth $121.5 billion, Berkshire Hathaway is the company’s leading shareholder.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its first-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“As we actively manage holdings and position sizes, we look to regularly recycle capital into more compelling opportunities. Maintaining our valuation discipline, we sharply reduced our position in Apple, whose shares more than doubled following our initial purchase in mid-2019 with an earnings multiple rising from the low-to-mid teens to nearly 30x.”
You can also take a look at Cathie Wood Is Selling These 10 Stocks and 10 Best EV Stocks to Buy According to Cathie Wood
