On Friday, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, took time to guide investors through this week’s events on Wall Street, drawing attention to earnings reports from various companies, including major players in the tech sector. He also acknowledged the market’s downturn over the past few days, noting the impact of recent developments on investor sentiment.
Cramer specifically pointed out that investors should watch the new home sales report due out this Wednesday. He explained that the housing market has taken a significant hit recently, largely due to a mix of severe weather conditions and, more critically, high mortgage rates. The surge in interest rates has been particularly damaging to homebuilders.
“We need a pickup to verify that housing isn’t just falling off a cliff at this point. I’m actually not hopeful.”
READ ALSO Jim Cramer Discussed These 11 Stocks Recently and Jim Cramer Shed Light on These 10 Stocks
Looking ahead to Thursday, Cramer noted that the first gross domestic product reading of the week would be released, and he expects it to reflect strong performance. He attributed the anticipated strength to a business climate that gained momentum following the election, when many investors began to believe that President Trump’s policies would be more favorable for business than those of his predecessor, President Biden.
On Friday, Cramer also pointed out a noteworthy trend: interest rates had declined, a pattern that had persisted throughout the week. This, according to Cramer, raised the possibility that the upcoming GDP report could be the final strong one before the market adjusts to the changing economic environment. While Cramer clarified that he was not making any definitive predictions, he emphasized that these market movements were indicative of what the market was signaling.
“So let me give you the bottom line: Out of nowhere, the momentum stocks had a hideous downturn today. It’s hurt many aggressive growth investors. Can this pullback finally run its course? I hope so.”
Jim Cramer’s Game Plan Focuses on These 17 Stocks
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 17 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on February 21. 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’s Game Plan Focuses on These 17 Stocks
17. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Cramer called Dell Technologies Inc.’s (NYSE:DELL) upcoming earnings report “crucial” and ventured a guess that the company will not miss its earnings estimates twice.
“After the close, Dell Technologies reports. This one’s crucial. Its stock was clocked last time and I think it could make a comeback given that it helps companies adopt NVIDIA’s AI platform. Great company with a terrific CEO, Michael Dell. I don’t believe it’ll miss twice in a row. That last quarter I didn’t like.”
Dell (NYSE:DELL) is recognized for its cutting-edge products in fields like AI servers, unstructured data storage, AI PCs, and networking. In November 2024, before the company reported its earnings, Cramer stated:
“Dell is the best partner of Nvidia when it comes to [the] implementation of Blackwell, which is the new generation of AI chips. I buy some now and then I buy some after it pulls back and hey, if the stock doesn’t come in after, well then you still got a good position on. I am a huge believer in Michael Dell and I think we’re lucky to be able to invest alongside him.”
16. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 120
Cramer mentioned that companies like Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) were recently hit and said:
“We got a couple of key momentum stocks reporting. Vistra, that’s a power producer with nuclear exposure, making it a favorite stock among people who want to bet on the data center-driven electricity shortage. I saw GE Vernova get trashed as part of the anti-momentum trade today. Maybe a positive reaction to Vistra could signal that the selling’s over. I don’t wanna hold my breath.”
Vistra (NYSE:VST) is an electricity provider and power generation firm that serves a wide range of customers, including residential, commercial, and industrial clients. In January, Cramer commented on the company and said:
“Right now, there are two utilities that generate a lot of nuclear power, Vistra and Constellation Energy… I think these two stocks are now way ahead of themselves. They trade like they’ll be able to build many nuclear reactors next to the currently approved ones because siting won’t be difficult… Oh, that’s true but building them will be. It takes ages to construct one of these things, big overruns… But hey, at least Constellation and Vistra’s real, even if their stocks have gotten overextended.”
