Mad Money Recap

Return to Article

Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: A Sotheby's Bid of Confidence

TheStreet.com Staff

Pop Quiz! Are you a loyal "Mad Money" viewer? Take TheStreet.com's new "Mad Money" culture quiz to see how much of the show you've caught this week or just to immerse yourself in Cramer's nonfinancial madness.

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

Sotheby's (BID Quote) is the "ultimate high-end play," with both "violent upward momentum" and the safety of being "inflation-proof," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Friday.

Shares of the auction house have had "a terrific run-up" recently, he said. Even though the stock has doubled since Cramer recommended it last May at $24, he said, he is "not ready to leave the ballpark yet."

May is always the best auction month, and Sotheby's should go up even more, Cramer said. "I'd buy it next week and sell it going into the auctions on May 8, or even a little before then." Sotheby's closed Friday at $48.31.

Although the May auction should be priced into Sotheby's already, the fact of the matter is that "the market isn't sane at all" and that most of the analysts covering the stock have been wrong all the time it's gone up.

Cramer said he's recommending Sotheby's as a May trade or as a long-term investment.

Sotheby's is the "perfect fit," he said, for the "billionaire society." After all, the best way to let everyone know you're rich is by buying expensive artwork and collectibles, he said.

"It is the play off of the rich getting richer," Cramer said. Plus, it has "strong earnings," and its estimates are "way too low."

Nuclear Fallout

The rest of the word is starting to leave the U.S. "in the dust" as other countries move ahead to build nuclear power plants, Cramer told his viewers.

"We may be falling behind with nuclear power, but that doesn't mean you can't profit from it," he said. Because of the nuclear power buildout, the price of uranium has skyrocketed."

On speculation Friday, Cramer gave his viewers two risky plays off the uranium demand: Mosaic (MOS Quote) and CF Industries (CF Quote).

These are two stocks that can profit from turning the phosphate used to make fertilizer into uranium, he said. "Mosaic is the largest producer of phosphate on earth," Cramer said. "Mosaic has got the phosphate, and phosphate has got the uranium."

CF Industries has already seen a little jump, but it should still be OK to buy it, he said. CF is good, said Cramer, but he likes Mosaic better.

Although the companies haven't announced that they will start uranium production from phosphate extraction, Cramer believes they are being coy about it. As long as uranium stays over $50 a pound, he doesn't see any reason for them not to restart their production of it, he said.

He advised viewers to buy one of these two stocks soon, "before the market starts to price in the new uranium upside" for them.

"The best way to profit off high uranium prices at this moment if you can take the heat of speculation comes from two fertilizer companies with a lot of phosphate: Mosaic and CF Industries," Cramer said.

BOD: Saks, Federated

Before giving his game plan for the coming week, Cramer addressed two companies from his "Benefit of the Doubt," or BOD, series that are still down because of "sloppy quarters": Saks (SKS Quote) and Federated Department Stores (FD Quote).

The whole point of the BOD list, he said, was to buy stocks after a disappointing number. Now is a good entry point to get into these two retailers, Cramer said, and he recommended buying them on Monday.

The Game Plan

Cramer laid out his game plan for the earnings-rich week to come. He advised people to buy Steel Dynamics (STLD Quote) if it drops below $45.50 when it reports its earnings next week. Steel Dynamics closed at $44.77 on Friday.

On Tuesday, Coca-Cola (KO Quote) reports, and analysts are all set to raise numbers because it is a great way to play the weak dollar, according to Cramer. He said he would pay up to $55.85 for the stock. Coca-Cola closed at $49.88 on Friday.

Also on Tuesday, Wells Fargo (WFC Quote) and Washington Mutual (WM Quote) report, in addition to a bunch of other regional banks, he continued. For those who own a regional bank, Cramer suggested making a hedge by purchasing Annaly Mortgage (NLY Quote) for protection.

United Technologies (UTX Quote), which reports Wednesday before the market open, has exposure to the rest of the world and is "impressive," he said -- and at under $65, it is a "gift." UTX closed at $65.05 on Friday.

After the market close on Wednesday, eBay (EBAY Quote) reports. It is a "great value play" and currently his best Internet stock, said Cramer, who added that he believes it will have a "monster" quarter.

He also advised market players to buy American Standard (ASD Quote) on Thursday, but he recommended people stay away from Harley-Davidson (HOG Quote). HOG, he said, could "break your heart" because it seems to have too much inventory.

Other buys on Thursday, according to Cramer, include Intuitive Surgical (ISRG Quote), Schering-Plough (SGP Quote) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX Quote), a stock he owns for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.

He also said he would get into Schlumberger (SLB Quote) before it reports on Friday, especially if it goes under $75. SLB closed at $76 on Friday.

Mad Mail

In his "Mad Mail" segment, Cramer told a mailer that Grey Wolf (GW Quote) is a land driller, which is "no good."

"You have to be offshore," he said.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Archer Daniels Midland (ADM Quote), Danaher (DHR Quote), Citigroup (C Quote), Haynes (HAYN Quote), Eli Lilly (LLY Quote), Abbot Laboratories (ABT Quote), Crocs (CROX Quote), National Oilwell Varco (NOV Quote), Transocean (RIG Quote), GobalSantaFe (GSF Quote), Halliburton (HAL Quote), Immucor (BLUD Quote), Akamai Technologies (AKAM Quote) and J.C. Penney (JCP Quote).

Cramer was bearish on Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR Quote), JetBlue (JBLU Quote), Digital River (DRIV Quote), Open Text (OTEX Quote) and Family Dollar Stores (FDO Quote).

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 popular book by clicking here.