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'RealMoney' Radio Recap: The Frist Philosophy

TheStreet.com Staff

Cramer said Frist, whose sales of HCA (HCA Quote) are the subject of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission, likely did not trade on information received from management prior to his selling of the stock because if he had, said Cramer, he likely would have been buying. HCA management and Wall Street were overwhelmingly positive at the time of Frist's stock sales, said Cramer. Yet Frist sold anyway, which proved to be smart.

There are lessons to be learned from Frist, said Cramer. First, be skeptical when management and/or Wall Street are enthusiastically positive, said Cramer. Second, don't be a pig -- take profits when a stock is up huge. Third, understand the importance of sector trends. Despite HCA management's and Wall Street's bullishness, hospital trends were weakening at the time of Frist's sales, said Cramer.

So, give Frist the benefit of the doubt, he said. Frist was smart to sell, or at worst, lucky. But, he's most likely not guilty of insider trading because if he had listened to management, he would have been buying, not selling.

Stealing Stocks

Lenny "Nails" Dykstra joined Cramer to talk about Wachovia (WB Quote) and Metso Oyj (MX Quote). Dykstra said Wachovia, despite being near a 52-week low, reported a "blowout number" Monday and reported no signs of credit deterioration. Cramer is concerned about what might get the stock moving but said he liked Wachovia's 4.25% yield.

Of Metso, Dykstra said he liked the Helsinki-based engineering firm because it is expected to be very profitable over the next two years and has exposure to the paper, mineral, civil engineering and energy industries - all businesses that aren't going away, said Dykstra. Cramer said the break-up value of Metso appeared large.

"Both ideas...resonate for this market," said Cramer.

In response to a question about BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX Quote), which Cramer recommended last week, Cramer said with the stock up about $5 from where he recommended it, it's time to ring the register.

Similarly, Cramer said the time to buy General Motors (GM Quote) was last week when he recommended it. GM could go $2 or $3 higher, said Cramer, but the risk/reward is not as attractive now. Cramer would look to buy the stock again in the mid-$20s.

Commenting on oil and gas, Cramer said he is looking to trade both now. Although Cramer believes oil is no longer in a multiyear bull market, Chevron (CVX Quote) is a good trade to $62, but "no more than that," he said.

Natural gas, on the other hand, is still in a multiyear bull market, and Cramer likes companies with "gigantic drilling rights," like Southwestern Energy (SWN Quote). Nevertheless, even though Cramer believes SWN is sitting pretty, when the stock goes down, he wants to buy it. When it ramps, he wants to sell it. If natural gas goes to $30, maybe SWN goes to $100, he said. But, at $75, SWN is the "harder money." SWN traded at $70.40 Monday afternoon.

In response to a question about Occidental Petroleum (OXY Quote), Cramer said that at $71 to $72 last week, Occidental's stock price was "ridiculous," and Cramer bought.

Cramer would sell some EnCana (ECA Quote) in the high-$50s, he said, adding that ECA needs to see natural gas go to $30 in order for its stock to get to $100. EnCana traded at $50.15 Monday afternoon.

A caller asked if Overstock.com (OSTK Quote) was a broken stock or a broken company. Cramer said the stock was one of the "most controversial positions going." Cramer said he knows several people who are short the stock.

The company had failed to deliver the numbers, but if it did so, short-sellers would go away, Cramer said.

Finally, Cramer said he was sticking with Motorola (MOT Quote) despite poor action. The stock is in the midst of a three-to-five-year turnaround, and Cramer said he would have bought more Motorola today if his trading restrictions would have allowed it, and he would buy again Wednesday, he said, after the company reports earnings. Any opportunity to buy the stock lower "would be terrific."