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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Hot Stocks

TheStreet.com Staff

Click here for an archive of Cramer's "Mad Money" recaps.

Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Monday that he's digging into "hot" stocks, explaining what their companies do and determining whether these stocks are worth buying.

The first stock he named was Omniture (OMTR), which is near its 52-week high and is up 50% since it went public last June.

While Cramer believes that it would be "piggish" for people to stay in this stock without taking any off the table if they're up significantly, he still considers it a "hot" stock worth having some position in.

Omniture's software provides customers with the ability to make data-driven decisions, he said. It works with such Web sites as Time Warner's (TWX) AOL, Expedia (EXPE) and Ford (F), among others, Cramer said.

Right now there are 10 analysts covering the stock, which only just came public in June. Already the analysts have "rolled out buy and buy after buy" on the stock, which currently has only three "holds," he said. Cramer doesn't consider this to be a good thing because it means there is more room for downgrades than upgrades.

Also, because it's a new stock, market-players have to worry about people who already own it and want to sell it, he said. The lockup expiration for Omniture is Dec. 26, after which the selling might start.

Cramer advised people who already own Omniture to hold it, and he told those who want to buy to wait until the lockup ends, at which point they could catch some weakness in the stock and get it at a lower price.

Although the stock seems to have many negative points, there are two things Cramer believes "trump the negatives."

First, Omniture was a "sleepy, ignored -- even disliked -- IPO that came out last summer" and it was only later that it started to run, he said. When a company disappoints market-players with its IPO, but then springs up, people are less likely to walk away from it, Cramer said.

Second, it is a "best of breed in a rapidly growing growth business," he said, adding that it has better growth than its competitors.

The bottom line: Omniture still has room to run, but will likely take a big hit when the share lockup expires on Dec. 26, so buy it after that date, Cramer said.

The 'Asian eBay'

Although Cramer has recommended eBay (EBAY) as an Internet value play, most people want an Internet stock for its growth, not value, he said.

Therefore, he said he has a new stock in the sector which he believes could be the next eBay: Gmarket (GMKT).

"This is the new South Korean eBay," Cramer told his viewers.

Gmarket, which has established its brand in South Korea, is already "winning" on its home turf despite the company still being very young, he said. And even though Cramer doesn't understand the Web site much, he said it's "viscerally more pleasing than eBay."

Plus, Yahoo! (YHOO), which Cramer owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS, owns 10% of Gmarket and plans to help it expand beyond Korea, he added.

But the first reason Cramer wants people to look at this company is because of its growth. While some people may consider it risky to invest in a small, Korean, eBay-like company, he said that Gmarket's revenue is not only up 125% year over year, but also has zero debt and is inexpensive.

"It deserves to sell at a much higher price because it blew the lid off the last quarter," Cramer said. And it's "massively undervalued" compared with its peers, eBay and Amazon.com (AMZN), he added.

As Gmarket is a new publicly traded company, its share lockup expires Wednesday. Cramer advised viewers to do their homework on the stock Monday night and Tuesday, and to buy Gmarket after its lockup ends on Wednesday.

Moving in Macau

People who regularly watch "Mad Money" have likely heard Cramer talk about Macau, a region off the coast of China that has become a gambling tourist spot.

Cramer said he has recommended Las Vegas Sands (LVS) as a play on Macau, as it was the first American company to build casinos in the region.

But now other companies moving there, and because he still believes it to be the "early innings of the Macau story," Cramer wants people to take a look at Melco PBL Entertainment (MPEL), which raised more than $1.4 billion in an initial public offering that priced at $19 a share on Monday.

Melco is the first Macau IPO and is the first pure play on gambling in Macau, Cramer said. Although there are a lot of people eyeing Macau, it is still hot, he said, adding that "the hype shouldn't be dying down any time soon."

Cramer advised people to buy Melco, which was expected to open between $16 and $18 a share, up to $25. Further, he told people to buy it carefully once it starts selling for more than $25, and to sell it once it hits $40.

In his "Mad Mail" segment, Cramer recommended Baker Hughes (BHI) and Halliburton (HAL), which he owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS, as two good oil stocks.

However, he said Halliburton is cheaper.

Consumer discretionary stocks are those companies where people spend their extra money, Cramer explained to his next mailer. Best Buy (BBY) is an example of a discretionary stock, whereas a tobacco stock is not discretionary because it operates on the basis of people's addictions.

Separately, Cramer called Best Buy "too cheap" and said he's sticking with it, even though Costco (COST) has hurt it and is doing extremely well.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Eagle Materials (EXP), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Mueller Water Products (MWA), Grey Wolf (GW), Cisco (CSCO), Apple (AAPL), Goldman Sachs (GS), Halliburton (HAL) and ABB (ABB).

Cramer was bearish on Morgan Stanley (MS), Southern Copper (PCU), PeopleSupport (PSPT) and Allis-Chalmers Energy (ALY).

For more of Cramer's insights during the most recent Lightning Round, click here.

Want more Cramer? Check out Jim's rules and commandments for investing from his latest book by clicking here.