Jim Cramer is Watching These 4 Stocks Ahead of Earnings and Key Analyst Events

This article presents an overview of  Jim Cramer is Watching These 4 Stocks Ahead of Earnings and Key Analyst Events. For a detailed overview of such stocks read our article, Jim Cramer is Watching These 9 Stocks Ahead of Earnings and Key Analyst Events.

4. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 70

Jim Cramer is excited about semiconductor equipment company Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) because of its partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor, which Cramer believe is a “gigantic” semiconductor company.

“Applied materials makes machinery that goes into Taiwan Semiconductor, could have a whiz-bang of a quarter.”

Cramer said Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is “solid” and the “sector is great.”

3. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 70

Jim Cramer said he’d be watching Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) as Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) reports earnings on Tuesday. Cramer wants Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) to announce some “rollbacks” in pricing and say “enough already” to suppliers to force them to cut prices.

“It needs to use its marketing power, its store power, to tell suppliers, enough already! If you want to sell in our stores, you cut prices.”

Cramer advised Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) that if it discusses pricing-related measures instead of just talking about its $18 billion acquisition of SRS Distribution, it would do “more business” because Americans need “champions” in their fight against inflation.

ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy made the following comment about The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) has long been a leader in advancing sustainable forestry, and its wood products can have a significant impact, as timber rates at the top of high-risk commodities responsible for most agriculture-related deforestation (Exhibit 3). The home improvement retailer adopted its first wood purchasing policy in 1999, pledging to give preference to sustainably sourced wood and to eliminate wood purchases from endangered regions around the world.

Biodiversity-boosting efforts at Home Depot have included tracing the origin of all the wood products it sells. This forms part of the process of verifying sustainable production, which it does using the certification standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Since 2000 Home Depot has developed programs to purchase FSC wood products, such as doors, boards and patio furniture, from over 60 global suppliers. It has also moved more than 90% of its cedar purchases to second-and third-growth forests, with the rest coming from areas with local community stakeholder review.”

2. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 85

Jim Cramer said Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) could “blow up” its stock by announcing new rollbacks in prices when it reports earnings. He called Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) one of his “long-term favorites.”

“Walmart can already take credit for having lower prices.”

1. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NYSE:BABA)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 116

Cramer said he’s be watching Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NYSE:BABA) earnings this week because China “needs to show it has an internal combustion engine rather than a whole economy built around exports.”

Cramer said that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NYSE:BABA) is his “favorite” Chinese company that “there is” in addition to Zeekr, which recently went public. Cramer thinks Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NYSE:BABA) earnings would receive a lot of attention as analysts would make a case for buying Chinese stocks.

Artisan Select Equity Fund stated the following regarding Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Pretty much all of our holdings rose during the quarter. Only one stock declined by more than a couple of percent—Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), which was down 9% for the quarter and 12% for the year. This investment continues to be a disappointment. We estimate the shares are trading at around 5X EBITA—a valuation normally reserved for a company with evaporating profits. While it’s true Alibaba is underperforming its peers in the market, the fact is it remains the market leader in its core businesses, and the business is still growing. In the most recent quarter, revenues grew 9% and profits grew 26%.It’s not evaporating.

The management seems to be making meaningful changes designed to enhance shareholder value, including structural changes to improve profitability and restore its competitive position. It is monetizing non-core assets and making improvements in capital allocation. A lot of good things are happening that are not yet recognized in the share price. There are reasons—primarily geopolitical—for this, but at the current valuation, we could easily see the shares double and they would still be cheap.”

Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below. You can also look at the Jim Cramer Says “Hang On To Stocks” and Recommends 10 Stocks and the Jim Cramer Talks About 10 Consumer Stocks As Americans Push Back on High Prices.