Mad Money Recap

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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Paris, Texas

TheStreet.com Staff

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"We're having a nuclear barbecue," Jim Cramer said on his "Mad Money" TV show Monday. He urged viewers to take a look at Areva, the world's No. 1 nuclear company.

But to find Areva, you'll have to go to Paris, France, he said, adding that the country is relatively nuclear power friendly.

The company mines uranium, processes it and builds nuclear plants, Cramer said, adding that Areva should grow earnings by 20% this year.

This is a multiyear-long tale, he said, as countries all around the world begin to consider nuclear power.

Areva also has the advantage of being the world's largest producer of MOX, or mixed oxide fuel, which is used as the actual fuel for most nuclear reactors, he said.

He said that the company should win permission to increase production and that there's plenty of global demand for MOX. France is the largest consumer, and Japan wants MOX for nuclear energy use, too, he said.

Nuclear power is also green power, Cramer said. Even though there's a prejudice against radioactivity in the U.S., nuclear energy is cleaner than coal or even natural gas, he said.

Though the company is majority-owned by the French government, Cramer told a caller not to worry. He said that the French are not afraid to make the pursuit of profits a top priority.

Get Your Stake

Texas Roadhouse(TXRH Quote) is a stock "that won't give you the roadhouse blues," Cramer said, saying he believes that it's the next great regional-to-national food chain.

The company runs almost 200 roadhouse-themed restaurants in about 34 states, and country singer Willie Nelson has been the restaurant chain's spokesman since 2003.

Cramer said that if Texas Roadhouse is like other great regional-to-national stories, it could go from 200 to 800 restaurants, or even more, if the concept is good and management is sound.

Growth is the thing that will determine the future of a stock like Texas Roadhouse, he said; and if you can get in at the beginning, or even the middle, of a growth story like this you can make a tidy sum.

As for Texas Roadhouse in particular, Cramer said that the company is expanding geographically and numerically, which is a positive growth indicator.

Based on forward earnings, the stock is trading at a P/E ratio of 27, which he said is cheap for a stock with this kind of growth potential.

And Cramer told a caller that he'd much rather be in Texas Roadhouse than Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG Quote), which he said sells at a multiple that exceeds Google(GOOG Quote) or Broadcom(BRCM Quote).

Also, on Google, another caller asked about the Internet giant. Cramer said that he wouldn't say Google was a bad stock, but he acknowledged that the search company is dealing with a handful of issues, including the fact that CEO Eric Schmidt recently sold the stock.

"We can't back up the truck ... We've got that guy Eric Schmidt. I think the Schmidt discount is gonna be with us for some time. ... I don't like the way management tells the story."

Cramer's price target on the stock has been as high as $500, but he told the caller that if he owned Google he would take some off the table as it nears $400.

Stock of the Week

Alcan(AL Quote) was Cramer's stock pick of the week, because he said you need to start thinking about aluminum if you want to start making some mad money.

"Aluminum will be the metal of 2006," he said.

China makes up a quarter of the world's aluminum demand, and India is a voracious consumer, too, he said, adding that these companies are helping to push demand and prices higher.

Alcan reports earnings Tuesday. Cramer admitted that the last time he called a company a buy the night before a quarterly earnings release, with Dick's Sporting Goods(DKS Quote), he got it all wrong, but he said that he's willing to put his neck on the line again because he likes the company so much.

Cramer said that aluminum prices have jumped over the past few years, but that Alcan's stock has barely budged. That's why he believes that there will be upward revisions in earnings expectations for the first quarter, adding that the analysts have been very conservative.

Websense(WBSN Quote) fell more than a dollar after another network security products maker, Blue Coat Systems(BCSI Quote), warned that its third-quarter profit would miss estimates.

Cramer welcomed Websense Chief Executive Gene Hodges to talk about what the company does and why the stock fell.

Hodges said that his company monitors what people surf on the Internet while at work and keeps those computers secure.

But unlike Blue Coat, Cramer said, the company posted double-digit growth in its last quarter and it just announced a 2-for-1 stock split.

He added that not only did Websense raise prices in January, but its clients are buying more of the company's products also.

Lightning Round

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