We recently published a list of Jim Cramer’s Game Plan: 10 Stocks in Focus. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) stands against other stocks in Jim Cramer’s focus.
On Friday, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, commented on the current state of the markets as he emphasized that this week’s earnings reports will be the first real indicator of how CEOs are managing tariff-related challenges ahead.
Cramer highlighted the continuing collapse in the markets and remarked that there is a “manmade obliteration”. He mentioned that the crisis is far from over. He also expressed concerns about the rising tariffs, especially with the White House’s current stance on trade policy.
“Right now, I’m most worried about inflation, which is something… let’s say something that we’ll be thinking about a lot when? When we have the CPI report. This is what really matters, see, because this is where we are not going to be able to cut rates if these numbers start being bad. Inflation became very sticky, and it was no longer going the Fed’s way even before the tariffs.”
READ ALSO: 10 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar Recently and Jim Cramer’s Take on These 10 Stocks
Cramer warned that tariffs could drive prices up even further which can lead to reduced consumer purchasing power. Highlighting the scale of President Trump’s tariffs, Cramer said that it was nearly impossible for these tariffs not to raise consumer prices. He noted that the Federal Reserve’s attempts to lower interest rates to stimulate the economy will be met with challenges by inflationary pressure. He added:
“I say the Fed’s locked in a box here and can’t do nearly as much as they might like because they don’t want to spur another route of inflation on their own.”
Cramer pointed out that various banks are predicting that there will be a recession. He mentioned that some are focusing on the 10-year Treasury yield dropping below 4% as a signal of an impending recession. He went on to acknowledge the difficulty of the day and week for investors. He added:
“Our only real hope is that the president comes up with something that can turn this bear into a bull and he can do it even as he seems unwilling to scale back the tariffs. All he has to do is offer our companies a path to get out of this hell that they did not create and they do not deserve. But the bottom line: That’s a very glass-half-full hope in what feels like a glass totally empty market.”
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 April 4. 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).
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
Discussing Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:WBA) decision to go private, Cramer said:
“A few weeks ago, Walgreens decided to sell out to a private equity firm, a storied name. See you later. The company that’s buying them? Sycamore. I think this was a great deal for Walgreens because otherwise, I figured it would go the way of the zombie firm…. But let’s see if things have gotten better or if maybe, there’s some real buyer’s remorse. Nothing would shock me.”
Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) is focused on healthcare, pharmacy, and retail. It offers services such as retail drugstores, health products, pharmacy care, and specialty services. Ariel Investments stated the following regarding the copanny in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Also in the quarter, we re-initiated our position in retail drugstore operator, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) following the wash sale period for tax loss selling. Recent news reports suggest there is potential interest by a PE firm to take WBA private. We believe the strategic value of WBA’s nationwide footprint and future growth opportunities has substantial upside at today’s valuation. We did not exit any positions in the quarter.”
Overall, WBA ranks 2nd on our list of stocks in Jim Cramer’s focus. While we acknowledge the potential of WBA 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. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WBA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
