In this piece, we will look at the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.
In a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Jim Cramer discussed his takeaways from last week’s GTC conference. The event saw Wall Street’s top AI GPU firm unveil its plans for enabling a robot revolution among others. Commenting on his experience, Cramer speculated that he would have understood the AI wave much better had he had an education in engineering instead of in the liberal arts:
“It was a week of intimidation. Because I’m a liberal arts person. . . .it has its advantages, I mean we’ve read Shakespeare, studied the Bible. . .but I had to have everything explained to me in order to be able to be in the room. But once it was explained to me, it was very clear that the bulls are right about AI. The bulls are right about the money it’s going to take and the speed it’s going to take. This is about need for speed now. And it’s a war among Grok and ChatGPT.”
While the conference came with big announcements, its impact on the stock market was negligible. March has been a tough month for stocks, with technology companies particularly failing to recover from a selloff that wiped $4 trillion in market value from the flagship S&P index over its post-election high. Cramer explained why tech stocks haven’t performed well. According to him:
“One of the reasons why the tech stocks have gotten hit is almost everyone’s convinced that if you import anything, there’s going to be 20% tax or 25% tax. So therefore, all numbers have to come down. If you could get a reprieve on that, then the multiple expansion on just regular, garden variety tech would be extraordinary. You’d have to put your money on that. It could lead over to Mag 7, yes. I think our great friend Mike Wilson, with his weekly warmup of Mag 7, I think it was a significant piece. And a lot of it has to do with this notion that these stocks have been made cheap, by both, by bonds, I think they’ve been made cheap by tariffs. So you would revert to them, rather than the lower quality stocks that make up the rest of the S&P 500 equal weight. I think that this is important David, because you know we’ve been taken up by companies that neither you nor I think are great companies. But they’re just, companies. Nothing special.”
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 24th.
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).
11. QXO, Inc. (NASDAQ:QXO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 33
QXO, Inc. (NASDAQ:QXO) is a software company that has been in the news this year because of its acquisition of roofing company Beacon Roofing. The firm’s shares are up by 13.4% over the past month after it succeeded with the offer. Cramer had been optimistic about the deal’s success even before the outcome was clear. After it closed, he commented that lower valuations in the home-building industry spurred QXO to make the offer. Cramer also believes that the new entity will now have to compete with Home Depot. Here are his latest comments:
“Brad Jacobs, we’re starting to get these companies, that are taking advantage of low valuations, and saying, I’m gonna build a super competitor in different verticals. This is a super competitor in . . super competitor in roofing is Brad Jacobs. These verticals could end up being very powerful. Or maybe they end up being bought by Home Depot.”
10. The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 36
The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK) is a Chicago-based company that makes and sells housing products such as decks, rails, trims, lockers, and showers. The firm’s shares jumped by a massive 19.9% in March after James Hardie announced that it would buy the firm for a massive $8.8 billion price tag. The deal came after QXO’s multi-billion dollar acquisition of roofing company Beacon. In his remarks, Cramer commented on this trend and linked the deals:
“Azek is a very competitive company, it’s run by Jesse Singh, who used to be at 3M. . . put together this company out of private equity. The stock did trade at this level beforehand. . . .we’re starting to get these companies, that are taking advantage of low valuations, and saying, I’m gonna build a super competitor in different verticals.”
“No, I’ll tell you what does matter is this is an example and I want to bring it out. Of a lower valued company that does quite well, but people are just like Azek, like what do I need that company for? And it just kind of sits there, making money quietly, and the next thing you know, bingo, it gets a bid. Because the stock’s down substantially from where it was!”
9. Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 36
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) is a restaurant chain known for its brands such as Olive Garden. Its shares have performed well in March. In the month, Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has also released its latest earnings results which saw the firm miss analyst estimates but share optimism about the future. In his previous remarks about the firm, Cramer cited the firm’s results as an example of a positive outcome as others focused on negativity. Here are his latest comments about Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI):
“Darden, Darden, I’ll talk about Darden. You won’t go to olive [inaudible], I’ve been there. But it’s a restaurant chain. It’s not like a blow away restaurant chain, it’s like an okay restaurant chain. It reports an okay number. And the stock goes up huge.”
8. Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 38
Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) is an American consumer goods company that is a former JNJ division. It sells some of the most iconic personal healthcare products in America such as Tylenol and Listerine. During the show, Cramer’s co-host David Faber discussed Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) in detail. Cramer shared that JNJ’s decision to spin-off the firm was a mistake. Here is what he said about Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE):
“Well Kenvue was not ready for prime time when they spun them off. They didn’t even have their own website. . . .they didn’t have a business card, I mean like, come on.”
“They were set up to fail.”
“You know we’re talking about Tylenol, Listerine. . .Neutrogena, Aveeno, I mean how do you miss with these? Johnson’s baby powder, well that’s a. . .”
7. Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 53
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) is a roofing company that has been in the news this year due to its acquisition by QXO. Cramer has discussed the firm several times on his morning show. He has praised Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN)’s model, and after the acquisition was approved, commented that not only was the deal a result of depressed housing valuations but added that the firm would have to compete with Home Depot. Here are his latest comments:
“Beacon is roofing, and it got bought by Brad Jacobs through an entity that he created. That company’s PE was compressed because of the housing problem. But if you have really bad tariffs, and they eventually go after Canadian lumber, then you’ll regret you did any of these cause housing will crater. But if they don’t go after lumber. . .”
6. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 63
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) is a computer hardware company that caters to the needs of the personal and enterprise computing sectors. For the past year or so, its share price performance has depended on the firm’s ability to attract AI orders. Cramer has mentioned Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) several times this year. In most of these, he has been full of praise for the firm’s CEO Michael Dell. He has also added that tariffs could increase the costs of Dell Technologies’ (NYSE:DELL) products. Here are his latest comments:
“And then you go to a cold, steely, realist. Someone you and I have known for two generations. Michael Dell. And he says Jim, think big. You’re not thinking big enough. And I said, I’m like the biggest thinker in the world. . no, you’re constrained. And I realize I’m constrained by the four walls of my liberal arts brain.”
5. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 66
FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) is a regular feature of Cramer’s morning show. Most of his comments have focused on the firm’s CEO Raj Subramaniam. Cramer has praised the CEO multiple times this year and remarked that even though FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)’s shares have struggled recently, over the long term, the stock has significantly outperformed rival firm UPS. Here are his latest comments:
“FedEx does an amazing earnings bottom line, off of an anemic top line. Upgrade today but everybody hates it.”
4. Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 70
Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is a frequent feature of Cramer’s morning show. He has shared that the firm is using AI to optimize its workforce allocations and remained overall positive about the company. Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)’s shares are down by 5.3% year-to-date due to declining sentiment about the US economy. Cramer has also commented that the firm will be crucial for building affordable homes in America. Here are his latest comments:
“[On a recent downgrade from Evercore] Yeah, I’ll tell you why. Remember I was talking about how, people didn’t like Micron, and they didn’t like FedEx last week. . . Now, David, here’s a downgrade about Lennar. Lennar bucked the trend. As rates went up, very rarely have you ever seen homebuilder stocks go up. Now, rates are allegedly coming down, right. And you usually are supposed to buy these stocks. Everyone downgraded Lennar after that quarter. So, I think you would say, well where were you guys at 180, but now, at 115 they’re all against it. I’m beginning to think you have to take the other side of the trade. I know that the costs are going up because of the tariffs. I know that rates are not coming down the way they want them. However, when you look at valuation, they’re suddenly becoming worth a lot more than I thought. And so I don’t wanna throw away Lennar.”
“Lennar has the ability to actually make a lot more homes. So if we want to fixate just on gross margins, maybe we’re missing the larger picture. Which is that, we don’t have enough homes. And they’re a beneficiary. Be more thoughtful about your downgrades, please.”
3. Bristol-Myers Squibb. Co (NYSE:BMY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 88
Bristol-Myers Squibb. Co (NYSE:BMY) is one of Cramer’s top pharmaceutical stocks. While his favorite is weight loss drug maker Eli Lilly, the host is a fan of the firm’s schizophrenia drug. In his previous comments about Bristol-Myers Squibb. Co (NYSE:BMY), Cramer has called the firm’s COBENFY schizophrenia drug a “silver bullet” for the disease. This time around, he commented on the firm along the lines of ill-advised business spinoffs:
“These are ill-advised. Some banker came in and said, you want a higher multiple? Get rid of the stuff that does, just is kind of, you know, doesn’t grow, grows 7%, and just blow out with your 18% drug. Well you know, that’s fine. Until you have a hole in your pipeline. And then what do you do? Look at Bristol-Myersss, okay, that stock has a PE of 8 because it doesn’t have this kind of. . .I just say that you know these companies do this stuff David, and then when you really drill down on it, they just say, well Jim, you’ll a generalist, what do you know?”
2. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 88
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is a home improvement products retailer whose shares have lost 7% year-to-date as investors grow concerned about the future of the American economy. Cramer has discussed the firm several times this year. According to him, The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) also stands to benefit from rising home prices as they lead to homeowners investing more in their properties. He has also called the firm the “number one home improvement company in the world.” Here are his latest thoughts about The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD):
“When I spend the day at Home Depot, David, it’s secular. There’s not enough homes. They can’t build four million homes. We don’t have a lot of turnover. Everyone just hoping that maybe there’ll be more homes made.”
1. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 94
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of the few companies in the world capable of manufacturing memory chips. Its manufacturing capabilities have placed the firm in a unique position in today’s AI race as it is NVIDIA’s premier supplier of GPU components. However, the proximity to NVIDIA has also weighed on Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s shares as was evident by their 11% drop during January’s DeepSeek selloff. Here is what Cramer said:
“Micron, okay, it’s up nine in the evening, it’s down nine in the morning. What happened during that period? I don’t know, people watched March Madness?. . . Nothing happened. Tech, and I’m saying that could reverse. Micron is an inexpensive stock doing well. I’m using Micron please as a metaphor, don’t try to pin me down. . .”
MU is a stock Jim Cramer recently discussed. While we acknowledge the potential of MU as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MU but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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