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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Jones Soda Has Pop

TheStreet.com Staff

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

"Jones Soda (JSDA Quote) could be the next Hansen Natural (HANS Quote)," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Thursday.

Hansen Natural has already had its run and "ran out of fizz last summer," he said. But "Jones Soda is still in the early inning of its growth story" and is "just beginning to run."

It's true that Jones has had a "nice run," but the party is not over with this stock, and Cramer said he'd like to get in the party late rather than never. He said he would buy it on a Monday afternoon, after all the people who buy it after hours on Thursday get tired of it and kick it out.

Jones is a "relatively unknown stock," which is covered by only two analysts, both of which have a "neutral" on it, Cramer said. Meanwhile, not only do retailers like to sell its products because of high premiums, the company should have 100% earnings-per-share growth in a year, he said.

In addition, Jones "has an unpenetrated market" and is going regional to national, which typically makes stocks go higher, Cramer said. "It has huge opportunities to expand" and the Jones brand has a "cultlike following," which is only getting bigger, he said.

Plus, Jones got a "huge win" when it scored a deal with National Beverage (FIZ Quote), which essentially saves Jones a lot of money to sell a given product, Cramer continued.

The bottom line is Jones doesn't just know how to make good soda, it knows how to distribute it, he said. Even though it might not necessarily be the next Hansen Natural, "it deserves to go much higher" and is two or three years away from reaching the top, he said.

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

Moving on, Riverbed Technology (RVBD Quote) is a stock that is up 80% since he recommended it on Oct. 13, Cramer said.

For market-players who have owned the stock since then, he said he would sanction "a little register ringing," but overall Riverbed is a "keeper." But to understand why it's a keeper, first people need to understand what it does, Cramer said.

Riverbed developed its own category in wide-area network optimization, and put out a "comprehensive product" called Suite and a software device called Steelhead, which together allow customers to centralize their networks, he explained.

It basically "has a product that saves businesses a lot of money on their bandwidth costs and infrastructure costs," Cramer said. Also, 70% of employees work remotely, and if they want a good connection, they should buy Steelhead.

As the stock has not moved up too much, he does not believe Riverbed is too hot. In fact, of the nine analysts that cover it, there are six holds and only three buys on it, Cramer said. And as the analysts realize they have been wrong about Riverbed and admit defeat, they should begin to upgrade and recommend the stock.

"They will be pressured to change their view," Cramer said.

In addition, although it is not profitable yet, in the next year he believes it should earn 25 cents a share and "keep blowing the Street away." After all, not only is Riverbed's market growing, but it has a 90% win rate with its WAN contracts, Cramer said.

He believes big institutions on Wall Street like this stock for two reasons. First, it has a great revenue growth story and is a pure play on the WAN product. And second, Riverbed has managed to beat its estimates every single time it has reported since it's come public, Cramer said.

In his "Sell Block" segment, Cramer said he should not have endorsed buying Federated Department Stores (FD Quote) and said people should sell it.

He also said it's time to take profits in Activision (ATVI Quote), which is up 7% since he recommended it.

Cramer advised people to take a "schnitzel" on Gmarket (GMKT Quote), which is up about 20%. By "schnitzel," he said he means to take some profits while retaining a position in the stock.

Moreover, he said "under no circumstances" should anyone buy Nuance Communications (NUAN Quote).

The company is trying to reposition itself as a speech recognition play, which is not a great business, according to Cramer. Although there might be some bulls on this stock, he said it has no potential.

He also said he considers HealthSouth (HLS Quote) a sell because by selling off it divisions to fund its core business, Cramer believes it is "selling its winners to fund its loser."

Cramer welcomed Douglas Brooks, Brinker International's (EAT Quote) chairman and chief executive, to the show and asked him why his company is being plagued by negative traffic and whether people should be worried about the stock.

"It has been a tough macroeconomic environment," Brooks responded. "But what we've tried to emphasize is innovation ... and we've been trying to work on value."

When Cramer asked whether the company is still buying back stock, Brooks said it is. In addition, Brooks said Brinker had increased its dividend, is in the process of increasing its franchised restaurant count, and is opening new national and international restaurants "to improve returns to shareholders."

Cramer said he believes the downside on Brinker is "limited" and advised buying the stock now.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Barclays (BCS Quote), Bank of America (BAC Quote), Coldwater Creek (CWTR Quote), Caterpillar (CAT Quote), Terex (TEX Quote), Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (RIO Quote), Rio Tinto (RTP Quote), BHP Billiton (BHP Quote), XTO Energy (XTO Quote), Honeywell (HON Quote) and Time Warner (TWX Quote).

Cramer was bearish on Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR Quote).

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