This article presents an overview of Jim Cramer Was Right About These 5 Stocks. For a detailed overview of such stocks, read our article, Jim Cramer Was Right About These 10 Stocks.
5. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 57
Cramer’s Recommendation: Buy
YTD Performance in 2024: +14%
On Costco, Jim Cramer in December 2023 had told investors to “hold on to the stock for dear life.” So far in 2024, Cramer has been proven right, since Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shares are up 13% year to date through February 26.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 57 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST). The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during this period was Ken Fisher who had a $1.8 billion stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) via his hedge fund Fisher Asset Management.
Madison Sustainable Equity Fund stated the following regarding Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) reported solid holiday results and announced a special dividend of $15 per share. Earnings were better than expected driven by better gross margin. Same store sales were 3.9% with solid traffic. Costco also noted better discretionary trends and solid seasonal sales.”
4. Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 71
Cramer’s Recommendation: Buy
YTD Performance in 2024: +8%
Jim Cramer has been a big believer in Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG). In December 2023, Cramer praised Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) and said Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) had a “good” dividend yield and the stock was for “sale.” Cramer also said at the time that Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) was the “biggest beneficiary of the big-cap stocks.”
Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) shares have gained about 8% in 2024 through February 26. Clearly, Jim Cramer was right about this stock when he recommended investors to buy and hold.
Madison Sustainable Equity Fund stated the following regarding The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“We sold The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG). After two years of strong pricing growth, the company is facing slower market growth in both the US and Europe. China, the company’s second largest individual market, is facing a protracted downturn with poor visibility on when fundamentals will improve.”
3. Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 98
Cramer’s Recommendation: Buy
YTD Performance in 2024: +13%
Jim Cramer praised Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) shares in October 2023 when he was asked about his thoughts on the healthcare company. Back in the summer of 2023 Cramer had said that Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) was doing a “terrific job” at reinventing itself. Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) shares have gained about 14% in 2024 through February 26.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 98 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK).
Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth Fund made the following comment about Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) underperformed in the third quarter, based on what we view as largely macroeconomic-related factors. The company continues to execute well, both clinically and fundamentally, but much of the biopharmaceutical industry has been weak as investors are gravitating to other, more cyclical sectors.”
2. NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 173
Cramer’s Recommendation: Buy
YTD Performance in 2024: +64%
NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the star performer in Jim Cramer stock recommendations and after yet another stunning quarter from the chips company Cramer is proudly reminding everyone how he kept recommending the stock in the past. And Cramer is right. In early January 2024, Cramer said:
“Stop selling Nvidia, please.”
In December 2023 Cramer said that despite tripling in value in 2023 NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) was still cheap.
In November 2023 Cramer tweeted:
“Nvidia can and will prosper without China. it’s just easier with than without.”
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Most of our portfolio companies have seen stabilization and modest improvements in short-term business fundamentals as the year progressed. More importantly in our view, many have been able to drive significant improvement in long-term Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as share gains, meaningful expansion of their total addressable market, and improvement in unit economics. These KPIs are significantly more important in driving the intrinsic values of our businesses, which we believe have increased noticeably during 2023. In the meantime, disruptive changes that we expect will benefit many of our businesses have also continued to pick up steam. Some examples include: • The inflection in GenAI: While a company like NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a clear beneficiary of GenAI, as its hardware and software solutions are used to train and run GenAI models, we believe that GenAI has the potential to benefit many of our other businesses as well.”
1. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 242
Cramer’s Recommendation: Buy
YTD Performance in 2024: +40%
During the start of 2024, when skepticism around the Magnificent Seven stocks was gripping the markets, Cramer had categorically told investors that they should not “forget” Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and they would ignore stocks like Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) at their own risk.
Since the start of 2024, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) shares have gained about 40% through February 26.
Insider Monkey’s analysis of 933 hedge fund portfolios as of the end of 2023 shows that Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) was among the most popular stocks owned by smart money managers. A total of 242 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database had stakes in Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META).
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Improving unit economics: Many of our companies were able to significantly expand margins during 2023 even though revenue growth decelerated for some of them, showcasing the power of their capital-light, recurring revenue business models, and their increased focus on efficiency. One public example that was at least partially responsible for driving other companies (especially in IT) to become more efficient is X (formerly Twitter), which reduced headcount by a whopping 80% after Elon Musk’s acquisition, despite growing user engagement. Another well-known example is Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), for which cost controls and margin expansion this year have been a key reason behind the stock’s outperformance (Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the year of efficiency). Other less well-known examples include the commerce platform, Shopify, which is expected to expand its operating margins from breakeven to 10.9% in 2023 thanks to the sale of its money-losing logistics business, and a 23% reduction in its workforce. What is even more impressive is that the company was able to accelerate innovation velocity (with a lower headcount) as well as improve sales and marketing productivity.”
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