Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, provided important guidance to investors last Friday, emphasizing the difficult market conditions ahead. He highlighted the instability caused by President Trump’s unpredictable tariff policies. Cramer warned that this uncertainty could lead to further losses for investors. Looking ahead to the coming week, Cramer pointed out a significant event on Wednesday when the consumer price index (CPI) data will be released. He added:
“I’ll tell you this, If we get a soft CPI and a soft PPI on Thursday, the drumbeat of a rate cut will grow so loud, so loud, it might even overshadow the pained forecast for the White House. With cool inflation meetings, the Fed has no reason not to cut.”
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Cramer turned his attention to Friday when the Michigan consumer sentiment number will be reported, acknowledging that this indicator was not something he paid much attention to during President Biden’s administration.
“I didn’t focus on this number much at all under President Biden because Biden was very predictable so it was easy to make plans. Sure, Wall Street’s hated many of Biden’s policies, especially on interest, but he rarely took us by surprise. Trump surprises us every day.”
Cramer pointed out the importance of consumer sentiment, stating, “We’re a consumer-driven economy, people.” He explained that if optimism prevails, some stocks that might seem risky could actually be good buys.
On the other hand, if pessimism takes hold, many fund managers may sell off stocks tied to the economy, only to see those same stocks rebound once the selling pressure subsides. Cramer also highlighted an important point: while markets can absorb negativity, they cannot handle uncertainty.
“The bottom line: Look, it’s one of the toughest markets I’ve seen in years… So if you wanna buy a stock, make sure not to buy it all once. Buy slowly because the stock you purchase might be down five points by the time you get your report.”
Jim Cramer Discussed These 8 Stocks Recently
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 March 7. 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 Discussed These 8 Stocks Recently
8. Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Cramer stated that Ulta Beauty, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ULTA) new CEO is responsible for clarifying what makes the company different from its competitors.
“After the close, we hear from Ulta Beauty, and the new CEO, Kecia Steelman has to explain how Ulta remains the most relevant, reasonably priced cosmetics chain. Prices have to be kept down to beat all the discounters… who are trying to get a bigger slice of the makeup pie. Cosmetics have become the biggest battleground in the entire store and Ulta’s got to win them back from Amazon.”
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) is a specialty beauty retailer offering a variety of branded and private-label beauty products, as well as beauty services, through its stores, website, and mobile apps. In January, while Cramer acknowledged that the cosmetic industry has been underperforming, he praised the company’s new and old CEO.
“Ms. Steelman is just fantastic. This has been a terrific time, Mr. Kimball did a good job, in an area, and I want to point this out cause people they say well I have a chart, I don’t know. This area has been so under fire, the cosmetics area has been terrible… So what I’m seeing here is a smooth transition from Kimball, to Steelman, and a better-than-expected holiday season. So this is a natural to buy.
The fact that it is only up eighteen, I know that, that seems like a lot, but not when it comes to a raised forecast and a new CEO. Dave did a great job 11 years ago, fantastic, he spent a lot of time with me, he’s a great manager. Before that was Mary Dillon. And she did a great job. . . .But I like Ulta here, I like the new CEO, I like the old CEO, and I love upsides and positives for the holidays.”
7. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96
Cramer’s game plan included Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) and he said:
“One stock I am a buyer of though is Costco, which reported excellent numbers last night and still got obliterated. Wait until Tuesday and then buy some. All the sellers will probably be done. It’s a longstanding position for my Charitable Trust. I actually wanna buy more. I haven’t wanted to do that in a very long time… And by the way, it did not miss earnings. That’s just wrong. Those are people who don’t know how to read Costco’s report. I do.”
Costco (NASDAQ:COST) operates a membership-driven warehouse model, offering a variety of branded and private-label products in bulk at reduced prices, appealing to customers looking for value on larger purchases. Earlier in February, Cramer remarked:
“I even see this with Costco and Walmart, the two best retailers in America. When Costco reports, people tend to be repelled by the quarter. It could lose a hundred points only to start the trek higher again as there was no reason to sell the stock in the first place.”
6. Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Cramer commented that companies like Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) are suffering because of big suppliers.
“Dollar General reports Thursday morning, and this one’s been all over the map lately, near the bottom of it. I think this company and Dollar Tree have become the odd men out as Walmart has hammered prices so low that these guys can’t compete. Dollar stores, they, I don’t know, they seem to be at the mercy of the big suppliers, not Walmart. I am not a buyer of Dollar General or Dollar Tree.”
Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) operates discount retail stores offering a broad selection of consumables, household items, seasonal products, apparel, and electronics under its Dollar Tree and Family Dollar brands.
The company projects consolidated net sales for fiscal 2024 to be between $30.7 billion and $30.9 billion, with low-single-digit comparable store sales growth across both Dollar Tree and Family Dollar segments. For the fourth quarter, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) expects net sales to range from $8.1 billion to $8.3 billion, with adjusted diluted EPS for the quarter estimated between $2.10 and $2.30.
5. Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53
Mentioning Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG), Cramer expressed displeasure with dollar stores and explained:
“Dollar General reports Thursday morning, and this one’s been all over the map lately, near the bottom of it. I think this company and Dollar Tree have become the odd men out as Walmart has hammered prices so low that these guys can’t compete. Dollar stores, they, I don’t know, they seem to be at the mercy of the big suppliers, not Walmart. I am not a buyer of Dollar General or Dollar Tree.”
Dollar General (NYSE:DG) is a discount retailer offering a wide range of products, including consumables, packaged food, perishables, health and beauty items, pet supplies, seasonal goods, home products, and apparel for all ages. Interestingly enough, in December 2024, Cramer said, “Dollar Tree. I switched. I don’t know if anyone follows me on X. I switched to Dollar General.”
4. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 117
Cramer predicted that Adobe Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ADBE) upcoming earnings report will make the stock worth owning.
“The most important part of the week comes Wednesday after the close and that’s when Adobe reports. It’s got to break the spell of undeserved negativity surrounding its stock. I bet CEO Shantanu Narayen will deliver something that makes the stock worth owning into the print.”
Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a software company offering a variety of products and services. Polen Capital stated the following regarding Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Zoetis and Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) were also notable absolute detractors. Adobe is another holding that’s come under pressure this year due to concerns about delays in the company’s ability to monetize its generative AI Firefly offering. Our research suggests that even if open-source generative AI tools proliferate, creative professionals will still need to curate and edit that content in Adobe tools.”
3. DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 45
Before DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) reports its fourth quarter and full year 2024 on March 11, Cramer commented:
“We’ve got some retailers reporting on Tuesday morning. I’m keen on Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is pulling away from the others in the sports category. I think they’ll deliver a very strong set of numbers and it jumps like a pole vaulter when that, when you get that kind of number. So it might be worth being in.”
DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) is a multi-channel retailer that provides an extensive selection of sports products, such as equipment, clothing, footwear, and accessories. In November 2024, before the company reported its earnings, Cramer stated:
“Now we’ve seen a bunch of retailers’ reports not sweating numbers yet in many cases, their stocks still roared. Meanwhile, others like Target get clubbed like baby seals. It’s treacherous to start buying these now because many of these stocks have run mightily in the last few days. Take that DICK’s Sporting Goods. Now this one jumped eight points just today. Is that good because it’s a sign that numbers will be great or is it bad…? I’m betting it’s actually the former because DICK’s is a category killer and there aren’t that many of these left… I think DICK’s can pull it off.”
2. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 161
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was mentioned during the episode and here’s what Cramer said:
“We learned that some Chinese outfit could create high-quality AI models using … much less hardware. That’s a simplistic way to put it, but let’s just be honest, the AI stocks have never traded the same since China revealed its Deep Seek source of, let’s just say, of incredibly fast but much less expensive AI. Does it make sense that that’s the case? No, it just doesn’t but it, it certainly hurt the valuations of the semiconductor stocks.
Last night, Broadcom reported an amazing quarter. Its stock was just rewarded after the close. Then it got dragged down by that tech sell program… before bouncing right back when it was that ridiculous, contrived program was over and it finished the day up more than 8%. But were you in there from the beginning to the end? Many people probably left at midday. This kind of accident’s become the norm.”
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a company specializing in the design, development, and supply of semiconductor devices, with an established history in semiconductor design.
1. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 105
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is a technology company that provides a broad range of IT services and solutions for enterprises. Discussing the company during the episode, Cramer said:
“On Monday, Oracle is gonna report and… do it after the close. I bet they’re gonna have some really positive things to say. Now Oracle, a very good software company’s become a great data center company, which was terrific until we learned that some Chinese outfit could create high-quality AI models using … much less hardware. That’s a simplistic way to put it, but let’s just be honest, the AI stocks have never traded the same since China revealed its Deep Seek source of, let’s just say, of incredibly fast but much less expensive AI. Does it make sense that that’s the case? No, it just doesn’t but it, it certainly hurt the valuations of the semiconductor stocks.
Last night, Broadcom reported an amazing quarter. Its stock was just rewarded after the close. Then it got dragged down by that tech sell program I just mentioned before bouncing right back when it was that ridiculous, contrived program was over and it finished the day up more than 8%. But were you in there from the beginning to the end? Many people probably left at midday. This kind of accident’s become the norm. I expect Oracle to have almost as good a quarter as Broadcom and then do the same thing.”
While we acknowledge the potential of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ORCL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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