Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, recently addressed how investors can sometimes lose sight of the broader market perspective. He reminded his audience that the key to successful investing is simple: buy good stocks at reasonable prices and sell poor-performing stocks, even at a loss.
“Sometimes we forget what we are trying to do around here. We’re looking to find good stocks at good prices and buy them. We want to sell bad stocks at any price and kick them out of our portfolio.”
Cramer also touched on the current market environment, noting that we’re nearing the beginning of a rate-cutting cycle. While some may argue it’s not yet a cutting cycle, Cramer believes it is, regardless of whether it proceeds gradually. He pointed out that there’s another important factor to consider, an environment that is heavily oversold.
“We know that there are inflationary tariffs in the wind, but we don’t know their size, their breadth or their impact, but that’s why we’re already oversold. People saw this coming, they were worried and they took action ahead. They dumped stocks so they wouldn’t be long or own as much when the meeting (Fed meeting) occurred.”
READ ALSO 6 Stocks Jim Cramer Talked About This Week and Jim Cramer’s Lightning Round: 7 Stocks to Watch
As Cramer looked at the market, he expressed his focus on identifying high-quality stocks that have seen significant declines. He noted that, in a market that has already experienced substantial gains, the only place to find true value is among the laggards. Specifically, he pointed to the healthcare sector, where 62 healthcare stocks in the S&P 500 are currently down by an average of 19.7% from their peaks. Cramer acknowledged that some of this decline is tied to real risks within the sector, such as President-elect Trump’s focus on addressing middlemen in the drug industry, including pharmacy benefit managers and drug distributors. However, he believes much of the risk has already been priced into these stocks, making them potentially attractive investments at this point.
Cramer also drew attention to the medical device and technology sector, where stocks are on average down 17.6% from their highs.
“Now the goal is to build a position that starts somewhere well below where it was, simply because it has gone out of style in the current version of the Wall Street fashion show and is being hit with heavy end-of-the-year tax selling… You know why you do this? Because of the overarching principle behind good investing, buying low so that one day you can sell high, or maybe not sell at all.”
Jim Cramer Recently Discussed These 7 Stocks
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For this article, we compiled a list of 7 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the recent episode of Mad Money on December 17. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the third quarter, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds.
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Jim Cramer Recently Discussed These 7 Stocks
7. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Cramer noted that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) is a prominent player in veterinary diagnostics and predicted that the company ought to benefit once pet-related vet visits return to a normal frequency.
“Finally… How about IDEXX Laboratories? That’s a leader in veterinary diagnostics. When we started this show, they used to be one of our favorites. They do software water microbiology testing… But after an incredible run from below $200 in March of 2020 to an all-time high of about $700 in August 2021, the stock’s been lost to the wilderness for a couple of years. That action mirrors what we’ve seen in many other pet stocks because, after a huge boom in pet adoption during the pandemic, there were a couple [of] lean years that followed, including lower vet visits trends, something that impacts IDEXX. Their latest quarter was of the mixed variety, a revenue miss paired with a 12-cent earnings beat… but IDEXX trimmed its full-year revenue and merely reiterated its earnings forecast. So the outlook is not so great so the stock got hit in response. In the weeks after the quarter, the company also announced a CFO departure although that didn’t impact the stock as much as I thought it would. IDEXX has become, let’s say it’s been making a comeback since this late October breakdown, but it’s still down about 27% from its March highs. I think the company should benefit from a continued comeback for vet visits, which has been happening but at a slower pace than they expected. As we get further and further removed from the pandemic, I expect everything pet-related to keep trending back towards normal levels. And in the context of IDEXX, normal means strong secular growth thanks to increased vet visits and tremendous pricing power. Clearly, a leader in veterinary testing. At its high in 2021, IDEXX sold for 76 times the next year’s earnings estimate. Now it’s trading just 36 times next year’s earnings estimates… I think that’s a compelling entry point. Not ironclad, but pretty good.”
IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) develops and distributes diagnostic products and services for veterinary, livestock, poultry, dairy, and water testing markets. As of the third quarter, IDEXX has an installed base of more than 144,000 instruments worldwide, reflecting a 10% year-over-year growth. A notable technological advancement came with the launch of the Idexx inVue Dx Cellular Analyzer, which received nearly 700 pre-orders, signaling strong demand for this new product.
However, IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) adjusted its full-year revenue growth guidance to between $3.865 billion and $3.89 billion, reflecting a reported growth range of 5.5% to 6.2%. This marks a reduction of approximately $38 million at the midpoint. The company updated its organic revenue growth projection to a range of 5.3% to 6.0%, influenced by recent trends in U.S. clinical visits and demand levels. Additionally, the company narrowed its EPS outlook, with the new range set at $10.37 to $10.53, maintaining a consistent midpoint.
6. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55
Cramer discussed the case of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) stock and mentioned that it is worth owning the stock.
“What else might work? Well, how about this down and out, Edwards Lifesciences, EW? This leader in structural heart solutions like non-invasive heart valve replacements used to be one of my favorite stocks until the Fed started raising rates in 2022 and anything with a high price to earnings multiple got eviscerated.
This thing’s made a couple comeback attempts over the past two years, but both, they ultimately failed. This year, that failure happened in a dramatic fashion in July. The stock fell an astounding 31% in a single session after a disappointing quarter that included lower-than-expected sales for the company’s core transcatheter aortic valve replacement business. Since then, Edwards has been working its way back higher even as they reported another weakest quarter in late October. At this point, the stock’s down 23% from its two-week high, down 44% from its all-time high in late 2021. Why bother with Edwards Lifesciences? Well, yesterday, analysts at Bank of America upgraded this thing from neutral to buy, which seemed like a bold call for a stock that’s been out of favor for a while now.
But when I read the upgrade, I found myself pretty convinced that better days are indeed ahead for Edwards. The BofA analyst cited a catalyst-rich schedule for the company in 2025 and 2026. Lots of potential growth drivers coming up. They also argue that the company’s in a sweet spot in the transcatheter aortic valve replacement space, which is a high-growth market with significant unmet needs. With the upgrade, the Bank of America analysts raised their price target on this $74 stock from $82 to $90. And you know what? When I read it, I think they’re on to something, which is why I think Edwards is worth owning here. A very compelling piece of research. I usually don’t pivot like that, but I liked it.”
Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) specializes in products for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring. As per John Babitt of Ernst & Young LLP, Edwards’ Evoque valve replacement system became the first transcatheter therapy to receive FDA approval for treating the tricuspid valve in February. Babitt also highlighted that Edwards is a major player in the aortic space.
On December 16, BofA analyst Travis Steed upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, increasing the price target to $90 from $82. He noted that the outlook for 2025 appears more positive, driven by potential catalysts and strategic value in TAVR. The analyst also mentioned that earnings, having been adjusted for spin-off/deal dilution, have the potential for double-digit growth.
At its annual investor conference, the company reaffirmed its 2024 sales growth guidance of 8% to 10% in constant currency. It also highlighted several key growth drivers. For 2025, Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) projects constant currency sales growth of 8% to 10%, with adjusted EPS between $2.40 and $2.50.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement sales are expected to reach $4.1 to $4.4 billion, while Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies sales are projected at $500 to $530 million. The company anticipates continued growth from structural heart therapies, aiming for 10% annual sales growth and double-digit EPS growth in the coming years.
5. Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Talking about stocks that are deep discounts, Cramer mentioned Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) and said:
“… Which brings me to Medtronic. Yeah, the medical device company that’s focused on cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, robotic surgery, and diabetes. Full disclosure, Medtronic’s been a long-term underperformer, up just 12% over the past decade. The stock had a big run during the early portion of the pandemic, reaching new all-time highs, but the gains didn’t last. By the time Medtronic bottomed in late 2023, the stock was actually below where it traded in March of 2020 during the depths of the Covid crash. That’s miserable. But I’m interested in Medtronic here because the company seems to be making a turn, getting back its momentum from the recent spate of weakness in healthcare. In late October, the stock had reached its highest level since August 2022. But in the weeks since, Medtronic’s plunged down 12% from that high.
You know what? It’s exhausting, but I think it’s a steal. Medtronic’s had a bunch of successful product launches in recent quarters with around 120 product approvals over the past 12 months in key geographies. Very exciting stuff in transcatheter aortic valve replacement, pulsed field ablation, and leadless pacemakers. Not to mention new functionality for their Hugo robotic surgery platform, which I find very interesting, but not a lot of people are talking about. This wave of innovation has translated into much better numbers over the past couple of years, starting with eight straight quarters of mid-single-digit organic sales growth. Medtronic’s earnings were basically flat in the last full fiscal year, which ended in April but in the current 2025 fiscal year, the earnings are expected to grow by almost 5%.
And if you believe the consensus estimates, that should accelerate to 7% in fiscal 2026 and 8% in fiscal 2027. When Medtronic reported its most recent numbers in mid-November, the stock sold off a bit, but the actual quarter was strong. Management even raised their full-year organic sales growth forecast and their earnings forecast. So I’d be looking to buy Medtronic in the weakness, but the stock’s selling for just under 14 times next year’s earnings estimates. That’s pretty amazing. It’s one of the cheapest names in the medtech group and hey, Medtronic’s paying you to wait for a comeback. It’s got a bountiful 3.4% dividend yield, very safe, best in the medtech space by a wide margin.”
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), a global leader in medical technology, is engaged in the development and sale of a wide array of medical devices and therapies. The company reported solid growth for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, with total revenue reaching $8.4 billion, up 5.3% from the previous year. The Cardiovascular division saw a 6.1% revenue increase, while the Neuroscience Portfolio grew by 7.1%. The Medical Surgical Portfolio rose 1.2%, and the Diabetes segment posted a 12.4% revenue increase, contributing to the company’s overall strong performance.
In October, it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Affera Mapping and Ablation System. This system is designed to treat persistent atrial fibrillation and a specific type of atrial flutter. Additionally, during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Chair and CEO Geoff Martha revealed that the company plans to submit its Hugo surgical robot to the FDA in the first quarter of 2025.
Moreover, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) raised its forecast for organic revenue growth to a range of 4.75% to 5%, up from the previous estimate of 4.5% to 5%. In addition, the company revised its diluted non-GAAP EPS guidance for FY25, increasing the range to $5.44 to $5.50, compared to the earlier projection of $5.42 to $5.50.
4. Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70
Cramer highlighted Marvell Technology, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:MRVL) progress in its custom silicon business, which he said was responsible for its stock gaining.
“… There’s also been some important pin action in the group since then. First, what Broadcom had to say last week about the success of the custom accelerator business, that echoed similar commentary from Marvell Technologies, which we had on the show last night. Marvell reported solid results over this month and also made similarly bullish comments about the trajectory of the custom silicon business. And that’s why that stock jumped 23% in a single session after it reported earlier this month, and then jumped another 10% last Friday in response to Broadcom’s quarter.
… Marvell CEO, Matt Murphy, told us last night, this market’s gonna be big enough for a number of winners. … Customers buy Marvell or Broadcom and they buy Nvidia too. It is so not a zero-sum game, and I’ve done so much research on this, people. It just isn’t. It’s a win for everybody.”
Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) is a semiconductor company specializing in solutions for data infrastructure, offering a broad range of products designed to meet the needs of modern data centers. The company is well-positioned to benefit from the rapid expansion of large-scale data centers as it projects a market opportunity of $75 billion by 2028.
During the third quarter of its fiscal 2025, it reported a revenue of over $1.5 billion, reflecting a 7% growth from the previous year. A significant driver of this performance was the strong demand for AI technologies. Of the total sales, $1.1 billion came from the data center sector, which saw an impressive 98% year-over-year increase. This surge in AI-driven demand contributed to the company’s better-than-expected performance and outlook.
Looking ahead, Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) expects total sales growth to accelerate, projecting a 26% increase in the next quarter, reaching $1.8 billion. Additionally, CEO, Matt Murphy is optimistic about the company surpassing its full-year AI revenue target of $1.5 billion and forecasts $2.5 billion in AI chip sales for the next fiscal year.
3. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 107
Discussing Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), Cramer said:
“… The other chip maker that’s been trading like a loser is AMD, another Charitable Trust holding. Now this is different. While AMD is clearly far, far behind Nvidia in making these ultra-fast GPUs, it was seen as, really the only chip maker that could even come close. But the fact that these hyperscalers are quite interested in custom silicon solutions from the likes of Broadcom and Marvell has investors wondering if these ancillary chips might actually be the next best option, not AMD and that’s a big reason why the stock’s down 12% since Marvell reported two weeks ago and it’s now down 45% from its highs in March. So that’s what’s happened. But what are we doing about it?… Even after it’s come down, I gotta trim something. It’s just not getting the kind of traction I thought it would with… AI chips. if we got Broadcom and Nvidia, we don’t need to keep sticking our necks out on AMD. This is a new theme. We just aren’t seeing the demand we thought we would for AMD’s AI chips and we haven’t seen a big move into AI PCs either, which they also have a big stake in.”
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is a global semiconductor company that designs and supplies microprocessors, graphics processing units, chipsets, and embedded processors. During the earnings call for the third quarter, CEO Lisa Su addressed some of the ongoing challenges related to the supply chain. She emphasized that supply constraints have impacted the broader industry and acknowledged that the supply tightness is expected to persist in the coming quarters.
Additionally, in December, an executive from Amazon revealed that Amazon Web Services (AWS) was “not yet seeing” significant demand for the company’s MI300 lineup of AI GPUs. It should be noted that for the fourth quarter, the company updated its full-year GPU data center revenue forecast, increasing it from over $4.5 billion to more than $5 billion.
Looking ahead to 2025, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) remains positive about ongoing growth in the data center sector, fueled by significant investments from companies seeking to expand their infrastructure for AI workloads.
2. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 128
Cramer highlighted Broadcom Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AVGO) significant future addressable market and its focus on custom accelerators.
“What the heck is happening in the semiconductor space? There’s been some wild action over the past week. It started last Thursday when Broadcom, which we own for the Charitable Trust, reported technically a mixed quarter. Even though the results weren’t perfect, the stock still soared 24% on Friday before tacking on another 11% yesterday, although it pulled back more than 4% today. So how does Broadcom trade like it got a takeover bid in the aftermath of a seemingly just okay quarter? Because the headline numbers don’t tell the whole story here. Putting all that aside, we learned that Broadcom’s having tremendous success with its AI chips, which is all investors care about right now at the moment, as you know. More important, management made some comments about potential big new customers for the AI chip business.
The focus for Broadcom right now is on developing technology for AI data centers, including and especially, custom accelerators, meaning advanced processors that they call XPUs. This is a business they’ve been building and building throughout the year as Broadcom’s customers raced to build out their AI infrastructure. And with last week’s earnings report, management noted that their AI revenue for fiscal 2024, the 12 months ending in October, was up 220% to a 12.2 billion. 220% and that wasn’t even the best part. Even before this quarter, we knew that Broadcom was making XPUs for at least three hyperscaler customers. Management never confirmed who they are, but they’re widely believed to be Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and ByteDance, which is the company that owns TikTok.
On last week’s call, the Broadcom president, CEO Hock Tan put on a show. He gave more detail than ever before on how he expects his semiconductor business to evolve over the next three years and his vision had investors drooling. First, Tan noted that Broadcom’s non-AI chip business has bottomed and should grow from last year’s base probably at a mid-single-digit clip. Now that doesn’t have much sex appeal, I know that, but it’s still major good news that the legacy part of the business, which by the way still makes up 60% of the company… will no longer be a drag on the rest of the business. Second… major positive developments on this XPU and networking equipment front: Hyperscalers can’t get enough of this stuff. While we knew Broadcom had three major hyperscaler customers and we knew they were spending fortunes with AI infrastructure. Tan explained that he expects each of these three customers will deploy clusters of 1 million XPUs in 2027.
I mean, that is shocking. Tan projects these three customers will represent a serviceable addressable market, that’s his term, SAM, of $60 to $90 billion and that is incredible. For perspective, Broadcom’s entire semiconductor business racked up just over $30 billion in revenue last year. Of course, this one company won’t get that entire serviceable addressable market, but even winning a decent chunk of it would be huge for their AI business. And the cherry on top, it was the news that Broadcom has engaged two additional hyperscaler customers, which represents additional upside to that 2027 addressable market forecast. Now, look, I don’t wanna get too excited about this, but it’s hard not to be, and clearly the market’s more than happy to get ahead of itself and digest that news instantly. So, that’s the reason why the stock jumped to a combined 38% on Friday and Monday and made a lot of club members happy… Okay, long story short, the Charitable Trust’s taking some profits in Broadcom, it’s had such a huge move. We don’t like to be greedy.”
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a prominent company in the semiconductor industry, known for its extensive expertise in the design, development, and supply of semiconductor devices. The company has built a solid reputation over time, becoming a key player in the field. It delivered positive financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, which concluded in November. Revenue for the quarter rose by 51%, reaching $14 billion.
A significant portion of this growth, approximately 40 percentage points, was driven by the acquisition of VMware, which took place in the first quarter of the fiscal year. During the earnings call, CEO, Hock Tan, highlighted that the integration of VMware and the growth in AI were the two main factors that contributed to the company’s transformation in fiscal 2024. Tan noted that revenue from AI, fueled by demand for custom AI accelerators (XPUs) and networking, saw a dramatic increase of 220% from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2024.
AI-related revenue now accounts for 41% of Broadcom’s (NASDAQ:AVGO) semiconductor revenue, playing a significant role in pushing the company’s semiconductor revenue to a record $30.1 billion for the fiscal year. Looking ahead, management expects the momentum from fiscal 2024 to continue into fiscal 2025. The company has forecasted first-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion and an EBITDA of $9.64 billion.
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 193
Cramer discussed that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has recently been unjustifiably torn apart. He explained:
“Now, we got some leadership stocks that are being torn apart. The heaviest of which of course is Nvidia. Up 163% for the year, but down 22 points from its recent highest… What exactly is the matter with Nvidia, down eight out of the last nine days? I think nothing. It remains the leader in the most important space of the entire market. It’s riding a wave accurately depicted by a seasoned warrior, Matt Murphy, the CEO of Marvell Technology who said something amazing on this show about the size of the AI opportunity just last night, listen, ‘We are in an unprecedented AI supercycle for AI as a service, but also for the silicon TAM underneath it. This is unbelievable. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I’ve been through every major one of these cycles, PCs, smartphones, digital cameras, cloud computing, you name it. This one’s bigger than all of them.’
Nvidia’s not being dethroned by any competitor. Even the companies that are trying to compete against it are faithful customers who have no choice but to try to develop something because Nvidia can’t supply, they can’t supply enough chips to meet the demand for most customers. I think it’s just profit-taking after a monster run. It has been a monster run, hasn’t it?
But I understand on January 6th, 2025, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang will be presenting a keynote at CES, the largest tech expo in the world and he’s used that podium before to introduce many of the innovations that made Nvidia one of the most valuable companies on earth. When will the stock bottom? I always let a stock tell me what to do. Nvidia bottoms when the stock rolls over at the open then hits the level on big volume where it stops before working its way back up to well above where it opened. That, people, is called a crescendo bottom when everyone of size who wants to get out has done so.
No need to jump the gun, but keep in mind that if you don’t own any, you might want to wait to get right ahead of CES. Oh, and another thing, please, if the stock opens up, please do not buy it. It rarely works.”
Cramer, highlighting the success of companies with custom silicon businesses, added:
“… Investors begin to wonder if these custom silicon companies are going to be such big winners, who are the relative losers? Now, one incredibly knee jerk and wrong answer, as I mentioned at the top of the show, is that Nvidia might be getting displaced. I think that’s one reason why the stock’s down nearly 15% from its November highs, including a big pullback today. Although it’s also because Amazon’s making chips that matter too, and Microsoft’s making its noises that it won’t be so hard to get chips, that there are no shortages. I don’t know, every long knife is coming against the stock that, you know, I like the most, which is Nvidia. I think these concerns are totally misplaced. First, as Marvell CEO, Matt Murphy, told us last night, this market’s gonna be big enough for a number of winners. Second, while the hyperscalers clearly like the custom chips they’re getting from Marvell and Broadcom, these solutions still aren’t as powerful as NVIDIA’s industry-leading graphics processors units or GPUs, which they can’t live without.
Don’t forget that Nvidia also has an enormous moat in the form of a software ecosystem to go with this hardware. Never, ever sell. Nvidia reports that the hyperscalers will spend ridiculous amounts of money on AI. Customers buy Marvell or Broadcom and they buy Nvidia too. It is so not a zero-sum game, and I’ve done so much research on this, people. It just isn’t. It’s a win for everybody… We’re standing pat on Nvidia, of course.”
NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) provides solutions for graphics, compute, and networking. Its GPUs, combined with the power of its proprietary CUDA software platform, have become essential to the infrastructure supporting AI applications. This combination has fueled significant growth for the company as major technology companies race to build increasingly sophisticated AI models.
The company’s revenue surged by 135% during the first nine months of its fiscal year 2025, reaching $91.2 billion. The growth trajectory of the company has been driven by the continued demand for its cutting-edge technologies, particularly its Hopper architecture, which is gaining traction in the AI space. Additionally, the launch of its Blackwell products is expected to further boost revenue.
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) anticipates total revenue of approximately $37.5 billion. This projection reflects both the sustained demand for the Hopper architecture and the ramp-up of Blackwell products. Despite strong demand outpacing supply, its management has expressed confidence in surpassing its previous Blackwell revenue estimate, with visibility into supply chains improving steadily.
As the Blackwell architecture continues to ramp up, the company expects its gross margins to moderate to the low 70s. However, when Blackwell is fully scaled, NVIDIA anticipates margins will stabilize in the mid-70s.
While we acknowledge the potential of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) 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 NVDA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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