On Monday, Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, shared his thoughts on how the government’s approach to tariffs could play a crucial role in sustaining the stock market rally. Cramer expressed satisfaction with the current direction of policy.
“There’s what happened two weeks ago, two Thursdays ago, more accurately when the stock market official went into correction mode. Until the market broke down like that, I think the president was perfectly willing to hammer anybody just to get his way.”
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“I don’t think he (President Donald Trump) wants to punish good American companies that make things here.”
Cramer explained that he no longer thinks the president wants to harm American companies that manufacture goods domestically. He suggested that the shift in attitude is a relatively new development, and it may signal a more nuanced approach going forward. He noted that with the market’s recovery, it is possible that the conversation around protectionist tariffs will surface once again, but the context might have changed.
Cramer speculated that when the market entered correction mode, President Trump may have been influenced by the pleas from various observers about the damaging effects on stocks of good American companies.
“Here’s the bottom line: At the end of the day, America’s the only country on earth that’s played fair on trade. Everybody else breaks the rules to protect their domestic businesses. That’s hollowed out our industrial heartland. And that dynamic can only change if our government takes a more carrot-and-stick approach. Assuming Trump doesn’t go overboard, that might just be what we’ve got and it means stocks can finally stage a real rally again.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 24. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment 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 Recently Put These 10 Stocks Under Spotlight
10. Titan America SA (NYSE:TTAM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
When a caller asked Cramer’s opinion on Titan America SA (NYSE:TTAM), he said:
“No, I’ll tell ya. Cement is really one of the ultimate commodities. I can’t go there. I’m very sorry.”
Titan America (NYSE:TTAM) is a major producer of cement and building materials, with a range of operations including cement plants, ready-mix concrete plants, construction aggregates, and fly ash production facilities, along with distribution hubs and terminals.
Additionally, on March 12, HSBC analyst Wesley Brooks initiated coverage of Titan America (NYSE:TTAM) with a Buy rating and a price target of $19. According to the analyst, Titan is the leading producer of cement and heavy-side building materials in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic, holding a 30% market share with a vertically integrated approach. The firm noted that the stock has dropped 6% since its February IPO, presenting a “compelling valuation.”
9. Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21
A caller asked when they should cover their short on Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO), and Cramer commented:
“No, no. I’m a Thor guy and I’m not, no, we’re not gonna be that, that is the wrong, it’s not that point in the, in the cycle. It’s the wrong point in the cycle because you need about five, you need about 72 rate cuts for some of these.”
Winnebago Industries (NYSE:WGO) designs and sells recreational vehicles and marine products, including towable RVs, motorhomes, and recreational boats, under well-known brand names. It also provides specialty commercial vehicles and manufactures parts for other manufacturers. The company confirmed its revenue expectations for fiscal 2025, ranging from $2.9 billion to $3.2 billion. Based on first-quarter results and future projections, the company has narrowed its EPS guidance, now expecting reported EPS to be between $2.50 and $3.80, and adjusted EPS between $3.10 and $4.40.
8. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33
MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was mentioned during the episode, and here’s what Cramer had to say:
“You know I’ve been recommending the stock forever and it’s finally happening. So I’m going to just say, you know what, let’s stick with it. I am not gonna say, hey, after all this time, it’s time to go. Litinsky has done a good job. He’s been sticking with it and I gotta hand it to him. What can I say? He never gave up and good for him.”
MP Materials (NYSE:MP) produces rare earth materials and magnetic precursor products, with operations including the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing facility in California. In 2023, when Cramer was asked about MP during the lightning, he said, “I say, thumbs up, MP Materials.” Since then, MP stock has gone down more than 15%.
7. Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Cramer commented on Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS) during the episode and said:
“I saw the Nebius booth. I was at the Nebius booth at the GTC festival. But I have to tell you, I’m not recommending stocks that are losing fortunes and Nebius is losing fortunes.”
Nebius (NASDAQ:NBIS) is a technology company that builds infrastructure for the global AI industry, offering services like AI cloud platforms, GPU clusters, and developer tools, and investing in AI data services, tech education, and autonomous driving. Cramer was similarly bearish on the stock in February as he remarked:
“Yeah, we did a little takeout on Nebius… and we felt like it’s kind of a, look, it’s a big money loser that people are buying because it’s part of all, of everything that’s going on right now in the cloud. I don’t want to be a part of it. Period. End of story.”
6. HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
A caller asked Cramer’s thoughts on HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) and he replied:
“Okay, HCA I think has been punished enough. It’s time to buy and I do think that your, your depiction of what happens every day is absolutely right and I feel it’s just, it’s not manipulation, but it’s a pain in, a pain in the butt.”
HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) owns and operates hospitals and healthcare facilities across the United States, offering a wide range of medical, surgical, outpatient, and behavioral health services, including specialized care like cardiac, diagnostic, and rehabilitation treatments, as well as addiction and psychiatric services.
Diamond Hill Capital stated the following regarding HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Among our bottom individual contributors in Q4 were HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) and Freeport-McMoRan. Health care facilities operator HCA Healthcare was negatively impacted in a couple of its markets by recent hurricanes. Further, shares have been pressured since the US election amid growing negative sentiment toward hospitals as investors anticipate potential reductions to safety-net programs such as Medicaid.”
5. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
Mentioning that the stock is up quite a bit, a caller asked if they should sell The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) and take profits or do nothing. Here’s what Cramer said in response:
“Goldman Sachs sell? I want you to buy more Goldman Sachs. We’re about to have a wave of mergers you wouldn’t believe and a new wave of IPOs and people don’t seem to realize it. I seem to be the only person who realizes it. You want to buy more Goldman right now, like the club.”
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is a financial services company known for its proficiency in investment banking, wealth management, and various other financial offerings. Almost 2 weeks ago, Cramer extensively commented on the company as he said:
“The plummeting stock market means fewer IPOs, which is another big source of business for Goldman. So that’s why the stock’s come down 22% in the past few weeks… I think much of the risk may already been baked, not all of it, baked into the stock price. When Goldman peaked last month, it was trading at 14.5 times this year’s earning estimates. Now it’s trading at roughly 11.5 times this year’s estimate although the estimate’s probably come down.
Why stick with Goldman in the face of this newfound uncertainty? That’s an excellent question. Here’s my answer because I think it’s too soon to give up on merger mania… Meanwhile, some of the softer economic data has caused long-term interest rates to come down and that should be a boon to Goldman’s debt underwriting while also encouraging more mergers because many of these deals are paid for with borrowed money. Finally, I think Goldman’s best-in-class sales and trading operation… could be in a position to make a killing and miss all this volatility that we’ve seen over the past few weeks…
Look, if I’m right about that and I’m pretty confident about the thesis because these Goldman professionals are the best at what they do, then that strength could offset some of the softer performance from the traditional investment banking side. So for all these reasons, I’m still comfortable with Goldman Sachs, but I do think the stock could go lower because the market’s awful. Alright, but I like to buy low. I like to sell high.”
4. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
When a caller mentioned that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) could be an interesting turnaround story and highlighted that 70% of the company’s chip foundry business takes place within the US, Cramer said:
“Lip-Bu Tan is real. Now he can’t turn it around instantly because the balance sheet’s not good, but my money is indeed on Intel. Hey, by the way, AMD’s starting to get a couple contracts there, but Lip-Bu Tan is an amazing man. He’s an incredible CEO and he will do incredible things. And those who know me know that I have been quick to criticize Intel’s CEOs who I didn’t think were up to this. This man is up to it.”
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) designs and manufactures computing products, including processors, memory, and AI solutions.
3. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 85
A caller asked what Cramer thought about Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) and he replied, “Western Digital is too, it’s just too commodity for me. I can’t get behind it. I’m very sorry.”
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) manufactures data storage solutions, such as HDDs, SSDs, and flash-based products, catering to various consumer, enterprise, and industrial applications. Earlier in January, Cramer commented, “I have read so many upgrades to Western Digital that I have to believe the stock is way too cheap. I’m calling that one money side up.”
It is also worth noting that on March 17, following a call with Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) CEO Irving Tan to discuss the company after its split, BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan expressed a positive outlook on the company’s competitive positioning and business prospects. He shared with investors that management aligned with the firm’s previous view that hard disk drives are currently in an upcycle, presenting opportunities for both revenue growth and improved profitability. The firm maintained its price target of $58, left its estimates unchanged, and continued to hold a Buy rating on WDC after the discussions.
2. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
A caller asked if they should buy more Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), highlighting the stock’s recent decline. Cramer replied:
“Merck is, you know what, Rob Davis does a good job. Merck is all hung up on the fact that Keytruda is the only real drug, big drug they have. Look, I’m going to say something that could get me in trouble, but I like Merck at this level. I really do. But I’ve gotta tell you and… you know, I play it straight. I like Bristol-Myers a lot more, BMY. I like it a lot more because their schizophrenia drug is on the come [up].”
Merck (NYSE:MRK) is a well-known worldwide healthcare corporation dedicated to the research, development, and marketing of a wide range of pharmaceutical products. Appearing on Squawk on the Street on February 19, Cramer said:
“Although Merck, is, maybe the ultimate laggard. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Merck perform this badly. Here’s this stock, distinguished from the company, which actually got hurt by a decision by the Chinese to not give their people two hundred million vaccines, GARDASIL, RFK, maybe it’s kind of a reciprocal thing [laughs]. . .it’s great vaccine, you may not like vaccines, but great vaccine, and the, the Chinese have chosen not to use it, they haven’t, and some of it’s with a wholesaler that apparently can’t give anymore to because they don’t have enough money. But that’s the one I’m. . . .that used to be called saint Merck, and I know it’s not high growth anymore but wow, I think it’s worth looking at because it trades like a bad tack.
… No, in the way of what’s really going with some of these drug companies. The loss of, they have a loss of exclusivity for an unbelievable drug KEYTRUDA, but it’s not for years. The only one in this group that acts at all well is Lilly, and I do think that when you’re meeting with the President . . .the drug companies meet with the President and it’s like you don’t know what he’s going to say after.”
1. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96
A caller asked if they should buy, sell, or hold Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD). In response, Cramer said:
“Yeah, I, look, AMD is getting some business from, I understand that they’re getting some business from Jack Ma in China. The stock is not expensive. I don’t mind you buying it. I do prefer, I do prefer Nvidia though.”
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is an international semiconductor company that develops and provides microprocessors, graphics cards, chipsets, and embedded processors. Parnassus Investments stated the following regarding Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) stock declined amid uncertainty over demand for processors, competition from NVIDIA and the company’s recently announced plans to reduce its workforce and reallocate investment among business segments.”
While we acknowledge the potential of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) 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 time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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