In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In his latest appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer commented on the response by markets to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that the inflationary effects of tariffs could be transitory. Higher inflation from tariffs had led investors to worry that the Fed might raise interest rates. However, Powell’s language assuaged these customers. Commenting on Powell and the markets, Cramer commented:
“People at home have to recognize David that there are two markets. There’s the very considered market, that was in keeping with the considered Fed reserve chief, and that’s what we have after two o’ clock. And then there’s the wild night time market where you come in and everything has just been divorced from what you heard the day before. It must be very confusing for people to say, oh my, what happened, seems like there’s a wholesale reconfiguration, a reset so to speak. But it’s all nonsense. What you see on the screen is worthless. No longer do these futures have any sort of correlation with what happened even last night. Now some of that could be because we have a new President. Some of it could just be that there’s lunacy and people who are not manipulating but making ill-advised trades long before the market opens. You’re seeing the 24 hour market, David. The problem is, in keeping with the fact that I’m at [a home improvement retailer], the traders are dumb as wood.”
Another investor concern and one that’s gone unnoticed amidst the debate surrounding tariffs and last week’s massive selloff is weakening customer sentiment. Cramer also commented on these worries and bank CEO Jamie Dimon’s thoughts on the matter:
“I think March is weak, I think the consumer is spending less. I agree with Jamie Dimon. . .Look I think that there’s genuine weakness in the endless talk about tariffs is soon going to make it so that it’s too boring to listen to us. Everyone is concerned about tariffs. People are asking about whether it’s reciprocal or protective. I mean, once again I hear, is it Hamilton or McKinley? I mean let’s stop it. No one even knows those guys anymore. What bill is McKinley on? But I will say that it is worrisome to people, so therefore they sell, soon as they hear tariffs, they get nervous.”
Our Methodology
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired on March 20th.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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).
10. QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 33
QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) is a Connecticut-based software company that has been in the news due to its bid to acquire home-building products company Beacon Roofing. March has shaped up to be a good month for the firm as Beacon finally agreed to the $11 billion buyout offer. In his previous remarks about QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO), Cramer maintained that the firm would clinch the deal. Here are his latest comments about the deal and the firm’s CEO Brad Jacobs.
“There have been major insider sales at lower levels by executives. It made it so that their defense was a little more, let’s say contrived. No one stepped forward in the interim since Brad Jacobs made this bid. A lot of these companies have fallen apart. A stock that we are at, Home Depot, has been miserable. And David, I think that again people just, I was looking at Nick Timiraos tweet sending the market down saying the Fed is really worried about tariffs. Tariffs, are not gonna really impact what Brad has to say, but, Brad Jacobs, but yeah I mean things have gotten quite gloomy. And the ten cent bump in some ways is a, I don’t know, you could call it kind of a bit humorous.”
“Well I’ll tell you if there’s rolling up, you’re looking at the place that’s going to do it. Home Depot bought SRS which is the principal competitor. Some people feel they have as much as 13% of the roofing market. Going to go head-to-head against Beacon. Now by the way, no one, I think and you’ll find this, no one, ever wants to say they’re going head-to-head against Home Depot, now Home Depot SRS. Because it’s, you can’t go against these guys. But I’m sure Brad has an important niche. Beacon Roofing is a storied company that has done quite well with Home Depot as a competitor. Look I think it’s a great company. I do think it’s a very tough market.”
9. Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 53
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) is, as the name suggests, a home-building products company. The firm has been the target of a takeover attempt by QXO for most of this year. The matter settled in March after Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) agreed to the buyout attempt. In his previous marks about the firm, Cramer appreciated the firm’s business model and shared that QXO would succeed with the deal. Here are his latest comments:
“There have been major insider sales at lower levels by executives. It made it so that their defense was a little more, let’s say contrived. No one stepped forward in the interim since Brad Jacobs made this bid. A lot of these companies have fallen apart. A stock that we are at, Home Depot, has been miserable. And David, I think that again people just, I was looking at Nick Timiraos’ tweet sending the market down saying the Fed is really worried about tariffs. Tariffs, are not gonna really impact what Brad has to say, but, Brad Jacobs, but yeah I mean things have gotten quite gloomy. And the ten cent bump in some ways is a, I don’t know, you could call it kind of a bit humorous.”
“Well I’ll tell you if there’s rolling up, you’re looking at the place that’s going to do it. Home Depot bought SRS which is the principal competitor. Some people feel they have as much as 13% of the roofing market. Going to go head-to-head against Beacon. Now by the way, no one, I think and you’ll find this, no one, ever wants to say they’re going head-to-head against Home Depot, now Home Depot SRS. Because it’s, you can’t go against these guys. But I’m sure Brad has an important niche. Beacon Roofing is a storied company that has done quite well with Home Depot as a competitor. Look I think it’s a great company. I do think it’s a very tough market.”