In this piece, we’ll look at the 17 stocks that Jim Cramer talked about after the Fed’s interest rate cut.
The Federal Reserve created quite a bit of turmoil in the stock market on Wednesday when despite cutting interest rates, it signaled to investors that the journey to low rates was far from over and would take longer than initially expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that “We have been moving sideways on 12-month inflation,” and used the data observation to project two rate cuts in 2025 instead of the earlier four.
In Squawk on the Street’s episode the day after the Fed’s rate cut, Cramer called the latest Fed outcome”a new phase in the process.” He outlined that the Fed might have missed the mark in being data-dependent. According to him “Look I think that they are data dependent. But they made a prediction and the prediction was not right. They should have just stayed data-dependent. They could’ve looked at the long bond and realized, you know wait a second, we’re on the wrong track here. And signal that. And they didn’t signal it.” Cramer was pressed about what Chair Powell got wrong, and in response, he shared that it was “The messaging. Right, because what happened is this that . . .we have a data-dependent Fed, and they chose not to be data-dependant.” Cramer added that the apparent miss from being data-dependant meant that the Fed’s “message was off. They’re not wrong, but all the people who thought that they were gonna be kind and dovish, I mean they were, uh, black dovish.”
The morning show host also shared his thoughts about the current tussle in Congress related to spending bills and electric vehicle billionaire Elon Musk’s role in it. “Look they got a real guy, Musk. Do you want to mess with Musk? I’m not messing with Musk. I tried it once. I was pantsed. You don’t want to be pantsed by this man,” said Cramer. He added “But I do want to make a point that there are a lot of people who are hopeful that he can do something about that. The $36 trillion that we have.” According to Cramer, to achieve the cut maybe Musk and his team “shame people, maybe he shames people who are giveaway guys,” as he believes that “he [MUSK] represents this chain of thought in this country that there’s hope. That this government can get its act together.”
Cramer’s remarks in the morning show weren’t the only ones covering the rate cut. Immediately after the cut, in Mad Money, he commented on Chair Powell “Because he seemed to get caught having to fulfill a prediction of the need for a rate cut, and that need was no longer self-evident. The data didn’t back it up. It would have been much better off if they had explicitly taken a wait-and-see approach before this meeting. This time they telegraphed the wrong thing. Hence today’s meltdown.”
Building on the comments, the next day he outlined “There were some very cogent questions at the press conference about whether, when you study it, after his statement, did they really need a cut? By their own admission? And, I think it confused people. It confused people because they cut rates and then gave exactly the, what I would call the [inaudible] for not cutting rates. David, this is that same problem that I keep saying which is that, if they had not set us up, not told certain people in the media, whatever, that we need a cut, and then they kind of like regretted it. And they regretted it because business is so strong, like GDP, inflation is a little bit higher.” Cramer concluded by stating that he believes the Fed “got trapped, Jay got trapped.”
As for China, the CNBC host didn’t mince any words either. According to him, China has “done nothing but build up” its military. Cramer does not trust the Chinese either. Quoting from the former Trump Administration’s Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis’ book, Cramer shared that where “the Chinese meet with Obama and they agree to everything and it’s really terrific and then they, a day later, they violate everything with the South China Sea.” Situations like these make him “think that we’ve been taken advantage of.”
Our Methodology
To make our list of the stocks that Jim Cramer talked about, we listed down all the stocks he mentioned during CNBC’s Squawk on the Street aired the day after the Fed’s rate cut.
For these stocks, we also mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
17. Nukkleus Inc. (NASDAQ:NUKK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 2
Nukkleus Inc. (NASDAQ:NUKK) is a financial technology company that relies on blockchain technologies to provide financial technology services. The stock pulled off a stunner last week when its shares soared by 3,648%. The catalyst behind the move was a $10 million private placement and Nukkleus Inc. (NASDAQ:NUKK)’s announcement to use the proceeds to acquire a majority stake in a firm that supplies components for Israel’s Iron Dome system. The firm’s financial performance in the first two quarters of 2024 has been nothing short of dismal with 90%+ drops. According to Cramer:
“NUKK is up gigantically on a placement. And you know what, NUKK is a punchline. Alright? It’s a punchline.”
16. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 6
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) is a Canadian firm that designs and sells quantum computing systems and provides a quantum-as-a-service (QaaS) platform. The stock is up 227% over the past month due to Google’s Willow chip which injected fresh life into the quantum computing industry. Willow demonstrated the ability to solve a problem that would have taken a supercomputer 10 septillion years in less than five minutes. However, Cramer isn’t a fan of quantum computing as is evident through his remarks:
“these companies, can I just say, when you have GE Vernova saying listen I love to do nuke but I can’t. And they are the biggest nuke company in the world. How are these companies going to, how is D-Wave Quantum by the way, how is that going to quantum? When we don’t even know what quantum is? It’s a nonfungible tokens, right? Cause you know what a fungible token was?”
15. Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 20
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is an enterprise-focused software firm that enables businesses to manage payroll, human resources, and other operations. The firm has wide exposure to the labor market as it derives 73% of its revenue from payroll management. As a result, Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)’s stock is dependent quite a bit on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cycle and its impact on the labor market. It sank by 2.7% after Chair Powell indicated on Wednesday that fewer interest rate cuts are in store, and here’s what Cramer had to say the next day:
“Paychex for me very good. I mean again, that’s probably like you’re looking at the Fed, you’re saying wow I mean where’s the pain here. We don’t see any pain.”
14. Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 26
Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is a defensive stock that sells packaged food products such as Slim Jim to consumers. Its shares are down 8.2% year-to-date as it has battled with a struggling US consumer who has shifted to lower-cost brands amidst a two-year inflationary wave. The shifting trends have made Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) consider selling some of its food brands to raise cash and cut down on costs. As is with other retailers, volumes are key to the firm’s hypothesis as they help it drive margins and derive economies of scale. Here’s what Cramer said:
“I think Conagra actually has a line of GLP-1 foods. And they think that GLP-1 is a tailwind. Tailwind.”
13. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 37
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) is a well-known American firm that sells french fries. It is one of the worst-performing stocks on the market in 2024 as the shares are down 42% year-to-date. Like Conagra, the firm has struggled with declining volumes due to consumers struggling with high inflation. However, Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has also dealt with rising potato prices, which a lawsuit claims stems from due actions of a ‘potato cartel.’ The firm is also purportedly part of this cartel. US potato production dropped to a new low since 2010 by June 2024 and prices had surged by 36%. Cramer’s comments around Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) revolved around management changes forced by activist investor Jana Partners:
“What do they think the financial results are? What are the financial results of this man coming in. . . .of this change, the COO coming in [AS CEO]? . . . Disastrous!
“Look, this company was doing better than its spin-off would have been, the company was spun off from Conagra. Uh, and I always felt, but hold on, wait a second, maybe Conagra should have kept french fries but in the end this is a company that is now worth $9 billion versus $12 billion when Conagra completely reversed. There was some way to make this company better. And you don’t pick the guy who is part of the regime.
“You know what you do? You go to Jana and say hey you know what? Get us a guy. You know who would do better than this guy? Maybe Mr. Potato Head. Mr. Potato Head has game.”
12. Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 40
Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) is a discount store operator that hasn’t thrived in 2024. While it might seem counterintuitive, the underperformance stems from prolonged inflation and slowdowns in consumer spending, which have led to a rise in alternatives to the firm. The competition Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) is facing comes from mega-retailers like Walmart and others like Temu, all of who have started to stock up with low-priced products. The lower volumes have forced the firm to cut down guidance, as was the case in September when the stock sank by 22% after it cut midpoint guidance to $5.40 from $6.75. Cramer isn’t a fan of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) either:
“Dollar Tree. I switched. I don’t know if anyone follows me on X. I switched to Dollar General.”
11. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 43
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is a software firm whose shares are up a whopping 385% year-to-date. The share price gains are based on several factors. For starters, Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) has successfully shifted its narrative from being a government services provider to also catering to the corporate sector. Its US commercial sales grew by 70% in Q2, adding to investors’ optimism about the ability to introduce AI into government services. Additionally, Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)’s shares also gained 34% in the days following the election partly due to the Q3 earnings release beating analyst estimates. Cramer talked quite a bit about Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) during the show:
“Right now I want to talk about where, I do wanna mention, you mentioned Palantir. And Palantir is probably the stock that bounces the quickest, uh and it does bounce the quickest in part because of a piece of the defense reformation, which is written by Shyam Sankar, came out in October, I urge everyone to read it, it is so brilliant. Uh, about what’s wrong with the department, the monopsony that runs the defense department. . . .I will tell you, this is the team that I think will go with Musk.
“I mean they are basically saying look, we’re done with the idea that there’s basically these companies that are going to get their way, cost plus is really bad, and they talk about how basically there is like the five families, there’s these companies that control it, and they gotta be blown out entirely because they cost too much.
“You know David, I know that there is hype here, and I know that you know Alex Karp. The company’s bigger than Alex, and Shyam Sankar is, I think he’s amazing. And the defense reformation. They are in. They understand the procurement process. I salute them, and I back them.”
10. Cencora (NYSE:COR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 45
Cencora (NYSE:COR) is a pharmacy retailer whose shares have lost 7% over the past month, trimming down its year-to-date gains to 9% from 21% at December start. The dip has come on the back of shifting investor sentiment surrounding the healthcare benefits management and pharmacy retail industries. Cramer is particularly worried about President-elect Trump’s promise to ‘break the healthcare middleman’ which includes retailers like Cencora (NYSE:COR). However, unlike some other retailers, the firm has fared better in 2024 particularly due to its portfolio of specialty drugs for ailments like cancer. Here’s what Cramer said:
“Look I think that if I were the people at McKesson, Cencora, when the President-elect decides that he is going to take a shot at you, as we know from his first time around, it’s not one off. There’s multiple shots. Multiple attempts to say listen you guys are . . . friction. I would not buy these stocks.”
9. Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 45
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) is another American mega discount retailer whose stock has been unable to catch a break in 2024. Throughout the year the firm has warned about dipping consumer spending that has harmed its ability to sell pricier high-margin products. The star of the show when it comes to disappointing stock performance was Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)’s Q2 earnings release in August. The report saw it cut the 2024 same-store sales growth estimate to 1% to 1.6% from an earlier 2% to 2.7%. Coupled with a revenue and earnings miss, the Q2 report saw Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)’s stock sink by 32% post-earnings. However, Cramer is a believer in the stock:
“Dollar Tree. I switched. I don’t know if anyone follows me on X. I switched to Dollar General.
“I think they have more selection and lower prices now. There’s too many things at Dollar Tree that are not a dollar. I mean at Dollar Gen I went up to the cash register and I said you can’t possibly have these milk duds for a dollar. [inaudible] listen, we don’t cheat! Our candy when we say it’s a dollar, it’s a dollar! So, and I’ve got to tell you, Dollar General, spotless. You could eat off the floor not that you want to do that.”
8. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 55
FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) is a shipping and logistics company that depends on robust economic growth, low fuel prices, and steady parcel rates for its stock price performance. As the firm has built its business around fast shipping, which typically carries a higher price tag, it has struggled in 2024 due to the consumer and business spending slowdown. The economic weakness has placed FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) on the back foot and the firm now plans to spin off its less-than-truckload freight business to raise cash. Cramer is optimistic about FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX)’s CEO and believes that the firm’s competition with UPS is also key to its narrative:
“We have FedEx. I think Raj Subramaniam is doing a great job. Maybe we get some good numbers. Maybe we even get a little reorganization.
“I think all that really matters is their, I think their competitive position versus UPS and how they’re doing per package. Look I think Raj is, I think Raj is amazing.”
7. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 55
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been one of the hottest pharmaceutical firms lately. The firm’s Sickle Cell treatment is the first of its kind that uses gene editing, and its regulatory approval by the FDA and in the UK has injected fresh life into the gene editing industry. New treatments are essential for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)’s long-term success since the firm generates 92% of its revenue through its cystic fibrosis drug. The firm’s investors were excited about its addiction-free treatment for pain, and when trial data disappointed them, they sent the shares sinking by 15.%. Here’s what Cramer said about Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the aftermath:
“Shocking news about Vertex. A lot of people were hoping that their anti-opiate painkiller would come through. Their painkiller equaled the placebo. And that’s just a shame.
“It’s the holy grail, we’ve got to get people off opiates. I mean remember CVS, you know your hope was that this non-addictive, and I think they’re going to try to do another trial but I felt very, I felt awful about this. I mean this was the hope. Non-addictive painkiller versus what they give you. So we have to watch, but I didn’t like the prospects.”
6. McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 57
McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) is one of the many American pharmacy and healthcare benefits management firms that have struggled in 2024. Like CVS, the firm hasn’t impressed investors even before the recent momentum build-up against the healthcare industry. McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)’s shares fell by 12% in August after its $71.7 billion in pharmaceutical revenue missed analyst estimates of $74.1 billion. However, the stock soared by 16% in November after it raised full-year guidance. Over the past month though McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)’s shares have lost 7% due to worries of government action against the healthcare ‘middlemen.’ Here’s what Cramer said:
“Look I think that if I were the people at McKesson, Cencora, when the President-elect decides that he is going to take a shot at you, as we know from his first time around, it’s not one off. There’s multiple shots. Multiple attempts to say listen you guys are . . . friction. I would not buy these stocks. I would not buy McKesson. I think that they David, as much people want to look at reverse head and shoulders there [MCK SHARE PRICE GRAPH] and buy it, I think you are in cross, in the crosses of President-elect Trump and then Musk, I mean these guys are powerful one-two combination. You know. This is one where I look at McKesson I think there goes Frazier! there goes Frazier!”
5. CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 63
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) is another embattled healthcare benefits manager. The firm has entered the current turmoil surrounding the industry with significant investor pessimism on its back. Soaring costs have led to a potential breakup of the firm, and CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) is also not only facing broader pessimism against the benefits management industry but it is also under fire from the Justice Department. The Department’s lawsuit claims that the benefits manager contributed to the opioid crisis, and similar suits in the past have cost upwards of $5 billion to resolve. All these factors were on Cramer’s mind when he discussed CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS):
“I want to add to the danger. This is a Justice Department suit that was just filed. Not today, but, David, when you read this suit, I don’t think people have read it. This is about opiate. And we thought we settled all those cases. . . .Justice Department, Bobby Whelan, and last thing his Justice Department does, really going after them for opioids. [QUOTING FROM THE SUIT] “To reduce its labor costs, CVS set staffing levels so low that it was impossible for pharmacists to comply with their legal obligations.” Meaning that the pharmacists were not any sort of, they didn’t gate this. If anything they allowed opiates to be sold, but they bore unresolved red flags of invalidity and it didn’t matter. CVS pharmacists described working in CVS as “a soul-crushing experience. . .impossible to meet the company’s expectations.”
“What I’m saying is this that we all know you can’t get, it’s all lock and can’t see CVS in the front of the store. In the back, pharmacists just didn’t have the chance to be able to comply and stop opiates. And I’ve got to tell you David, this is one of those, they’ve got new management there but, this is not going to go away. They’re [JUSTICE DEPARTMENT] saying it really contributed to the opioid crisis.
“CVS is going to be challenged in every part of the business. And I don’t like this suit from the Justice Department. I don’t like it because, filed first of all in Rhode Island where CVS is. But there is a chance David, that they are going to be front and center again with opioids.”
“But there’s people buzzing if it’s the next Walgreens.
“By the way, I like these guys, they’re really trying to turn it, but David there’s a lot of damage. And this Justice Department suit is part of it.”
4. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 75
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is the embattled sports apparel retailer whose shares have lost 27.8% year-to-date. The firm has struggled on multiple fronts in 2024. These include a consumer spending slowdown in America that has hurt demand and Chinese economy uncertainty. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s shares dropped by 20% in June after it guided a mid-single-digit revenue drop for Fiscal Year 2025 and surprised investors. The firm is currently embarking on a turnaround plan, which will take its sweet time to materialize according to new CEO Elliot Hill. Hill also believes that NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) has lost its place in the sports apparel market. Cramer agrees:
“Yeah, but you know people always want to get the jump on that thing, look I don’t think Nike’s anywhere near where it has to be. . .Jordan’s not selling. People don’t want to talk about that.”
3. Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 79
Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is one of the largest homebuilders in America. Given the tight link between interest rates and the homebuilding market, the fact that its shares are down 6% is unsurprising. However, Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)’s recent turmoils have contributed more to the share price fall as the stock was up a modest 12.6% year-to-date ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings. Q4 wasn’t great for the firm as its home deliveries fell by 7%, average sales price dropped to $430,000, and earnings of $4.06 missed analyst estimates of $4.16. Here’s what Cramer said about the earnings:
“Lennar was very difficult because . . . .we have. Stuart Miller who’s executive chairman just basically saying listen rates went up. What do you think [IS] going to happen when rates go up? We don’t make as much money. That was terrific, and against this, I’m going to say Darden was good, Darden, big restaurant chain, so not everything was bad last night.
“Lennar’s really a very big homebuilder in the four hundred thousand dollar range. That was a bad miss. And again, who knew that rates were going to go up when the Fed cut?!”
2. Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 107
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of three major memory manufacturers in the world. It is also the only large-scale American memory maker, a fact that has grown its importance to US national security in today’s semiconductor industry. However, while Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) benefits from its industry stature, manufacturing prowess, and exposure to AI via HBM3e memory products, its reliance on the consumer market has hurt the stock. Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s shares dipped by 16% in December after its fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance missed analyst estimates by a whopping $1 billion. Cramer’s remarks for Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) surrounded its CEO:
“I felt very bad for Sanjay. That Sanjay predicted a turn in all businesses. The high bandwidth memory was spectacular. And now a much bigger part of their mosaic. And I think that’s terrific, that’s data center. But David, PCs we’ve been saying PCs are weak, cellphones are weak, and Sanjay got it wrong. And for that, his stock is being punished. And the people who bought are being punished. What I feel badly about is that high bandwidth memory. I’ve talked with him about high bandwidth memory, he always said if it ever got to these levels the company would be doing so well. It is. But they have these other businesses and they didn’t turn. And we didn’t really get a timeframe of when they will. So it was very disappointing because that’s what the analysts want to talk about.
“He forecast so badly. He did not do what I wanted him to do. He just had to say I can’t predict PC and I can’t predict cellphone. But the, the reverberations are all over the place. I mean even for Arm Holdings which is in this battle with Qualcomm. But I just felt, I felt bad for Sanjay because I remember this time last year, he kind of lectured me, so nice, he called, it was like four in the morning, he knew that I get up early. And it was you know Jim you’re too bullish about high-bandwidth memory. Well I wasn’t. High-bandwidth memory turned out to be great. But what I wasn’t bearish enough was on cellphones and PCs.”
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 193
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the world’s leading GPU designer whose shares have been the biggest beneficiary of the AI wave. The firm’s GPUs are one-of-a-kind in terms of performance. Their edge has led to surging demand, which has led to rising prices and supply constraints. These problems have generated speculation that perhaps NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s market dominance is under threat from Broadcom and Marvel. However, Cramer doesn’t hold this view and wants investors to be prudent when making stock purchases. Here’s what he said:
“How about the fact that NVIDIA was up three and a half at 4am and there it is.
“You know when I talk about it at the club meeting, what I intend to say is, look it’s a great long-term stock, you have to see what Jensen Huang says on January 6th. Don’t buy these up moves. Yesterday people were buying it up three. You know Carl I hate these up moves. They’re just like three fire zones. Why would you do that? You’re hit by friendly fire on that one.”
NVDA is a stock Jim Cramer can’t talk enough about. While we acknowledge the potential of 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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