Cramer: Four Stocks Off Verizon's Quarter

04/30/07 - 02:14 PM EDT

Jim Cramer

This column was originally published on RealMoney on April 30 at 9:10 a.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

Ciena(CIEN Quote), Corning(GLW Quote), JDSU(JDSU Quote), even Tellabs(TLAB Quote): That's the way to play this Verizon(VZ Quote) quarter, where spending is going to accelerate on optical businesses.

It's been ages since we had a spending cycle worth noting in telco (vs. the unbelievably strong aerospace cycle; witness United Tech(UTX Quote), Honeywell(HON Quote) and now B/E Aerospace(BEAV Quote) this morning). When we had the last one, it was fantastic for Ciena, JDSU, Alcatel, Lucent (pre-combination), Nortel(NT Quote) and Corning.

Corning signaled the strength last week, even though it seemed that people focused far more on LCD screens.

This morning, though, Verizon makes it very clear that spending's going to be huge for these businesses.

I don't want to overthink this. The stocks in this sector aren't expensive if Verizon is going to accelerate spending. Just check the upgrade this morning of Ciena by Weisel. It again signals that this is the moment.

Of these, JDSU is the most problematic. Its history of terrible execution could blunt the cycle. I have far more faith in Tellabs which already had its terrible quarter. I don't trust Alcatel-Lucent(ALU Quote) at all after Patricia Russo got the nod to run the company, but this Verizon story this morning explains the strength after that miserable quarter.

Let me just add that I hate this group -- if only because if Verizon hiccups, you are dead. We aren't seeing this kind of spending from either Qwest(Q Quote) or, of course and much more significantly, AT&T(T Quote). But given that Verizon just reported, the window is open for some capital gains off this very big cycle.

Random musings: Speaking of defense and aerospace, you have got to check out the discussion of the Boeing suppliers portfolio on Stockpickr. I tell you, every day this site becomes a more value-added investing tool.

At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in any of the stocks mentioned in this post.

Stockpickr LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com and part of its network of Web properties.

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for Action Alerts PLUS. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" weeknights on CNBC. Click here to order Cramer's latest book, "Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich," click here to order his book, "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get his second book, "You Got Screwed!" and click here to order Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict." While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to send comments on his column by clicking here.

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