Playing After the Panic

Now the question is do we buy the ones that are down, or do we pay for the ones that are up? Do we buy anything ag or oil or gas or coal or mineral, or do we buy pharma? How about tech, which we know is the strongest performer when oil is down?

To me that's the biggest question imaginable, and I believe you can find ways to do both. You can find ways to pick at what's working -- to me, you can still pick up some Bristol-Myers (BMY - commentary - Cramer's Take) -- and find an oil or gas play that suits you. In full disclosure, I have been trimming some drug stocks that have just rocketed for Action Alerts PLUS, but only the stocks that I bought when these stocks were so down and out that I got too big in them.

I have been picking at National Oilwell Varco (NOV - commentary - Cramer's Take) which is way too low and may be able to keep its raw costs below where I thought because of its steel expenses, but will see no cessation whatsoever from orders because of the worldwide rig shortage.

How about natural gas? I have to tell you that this blow-off is so powerful that it has created some big buys in the group. I've been buying some Devon (DVN - commentary - Cramer's Take) among others, as that one's really down, but you have to consider that Chesapeake (CHK - commentary - Cramer's Take) has now reversed huge, and it would not surprise me to see that one stabilize. I don't have a feel for ag. I do think that infrastructure once again gets tarred as if all of its orders will be canceled.

As usual, the shorts are pressing their bets here.

The destruction was swift, and it doesn't feel like it is over.

But the velocity of that decline seemed so great and the panic so thick that you have to believe it was some sort of fear bottom that can be retested and should hold.

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Devon and National Oilwell Varco.

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