Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, offered an optimistic perspective on the market on Thursday as he challenged the prevailing pessimism among some on Wall Street. He highlighted the diverse range of sectors showing gains.
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Cramer observed that when investors are focused on long-standing winners, like tech stocks, it can be easy to miss when their dominance starts to wane. Cramer expressed his hesitation to part ways with tech given its long-term success but he pointed out something surprising as he reviewed the top-performing sectors.
“But when I scroll through the winning sectors for the year, I am struck by how they represent a wide array of groupings that aren’t tethered to any particular economic worldview.”
Cramer noted that neither the outlook of a recession nor predictions of a major slowdown could explain the growth seen in sectors beyond tech and communication services. He discussed that this year’s leaders are not only unexpected but in some cases, they seem counterintuitive. He described them as “broad,” in the sense that they span a wide range of industries, each responding to different economic conditions. He highlighted that these sectors that are performing well now have been largely overlooked for years, as tech has long dominated the spotlight.
Cramer said that for a long time, market participants had hoped for a rally that would extend beyond the tech sector, and now it seems to be happening. However, he remarked, “except you can’t call it a rally anymore.” He went on to say that a day like Thursday, in his view, was a sign of a healthy market despite the constant narrative of trouble in the economy.
“But the bottom line: It’s tricky to see such a broad mixture of stocks winning here, from ones that can run in a recession to ones that can rally hard in a robust economy. What it tells me is that the market may be far healthier than we think, and this backdrop simply isn’t as bad as many would have you believe.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 23 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 27. 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 Looked At These 23 Stocks Recently
23. Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
Recognizing the aerospace bull market, Cramer mentioned Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) and said:
“Finally, there are the industrials, again, a group that’s prone to failure during a recession. See my point? These are all oddities, right?… Then it’s followed by GE Aerospace and Howmet, which makes fasteners for planes. These are both part of the aerospace bull market, which is still going on. It’s a quiet one that shows no sign of quitting at all.”
Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) provides engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation sectors. It offers airfoils, fastening systems, titanium and aluminum forgings, and forged aluminum wheels. Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“From a sector standpoint, the main drivers of the portfolio’s outperformance during the fourth quarter were Industrials and Materials. Within Industrials, Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) and Vertiv Holdings Co. were the largest contributors to outperformance. Howmet reported an earnings beat during the quarter with broad-based strength spanning across all key segments. In particular, the company’s Engine Products and Fasteners segment performed well. During the earnings call, management spent significant time describing the emerging new growth driver of industrial gas turbines, which are used in gas power plants, which have become a focus for investors due to accelerating demand from AI data centers. Howmet is the leading supplier to the three major producers of these engines and will benefit from both initial purposes and the long-term maintenance demand.”
22. GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 101
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) was mentioned by Cramer during Mad Money as he said:
“Finally, there are the industrials, again, a group that’s prone to failure during a recession. See my point? These are all oddities, right?… Then it’s followed by GE Aerospace and Howmet, which makes fasteners for planes. These are both part of the aerospace bull market, which is still going on. It’s a quiet one that shows no sign of quitting at all.”
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) focuses on designing engines for commercial and military aircraft, in addition to supplying integrated components, electric power systems, and mechanical systems for the aviation industry. Answering a question about whether the company can take more share from Boeing, Cramer said on March 14:
“Oh man. Okay… I think the answer is they can take a ton. They, and you have to, you have to buy it and buy it like mad because what’s gonna happen is there’s going to be so much servicing of these planes and that’s where they make their biggest money. And don’t forget, you’re getting Larry Culp who’s one of the greatest executives in America.”
