Cramer's Take on George Soros' Stocks

Stockpickr Staff

Part of the philosophy of Stockpickr is to follow in the footsteps of smart people. Sometimes that means buying what a great investor like George Soros is buying.

We often look at opportunities that involve buybacks or shareholder activism among many other setups. But sometimes, especially when it involves someone like George Soros, we wonder whether we should just jump right in.

Clearly, Soros did his homework and is a long-term holder in most situations. However, our own Jim Cramer would implore you to do your own homework and not blindly follow someone into a stock, even one of the greatest investor of all time.

James Altucher has written about Soros before and recently highlighted the Highest-Yielding George Soros Stocks.

And now we have set up the portfolio of Cramer's Take on George Soros. Basically, this list offers Cramer's stance on a few of Soros' holdings. We gleaned Cramer's opinions from comments made on his "Mad Money" TV show and in his "Wall Street Confidential" interviews on TheStreet.com TV.

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce

First up is Companhia Vale do Rio Doce(RIO). The Brazilian mining giant stands as Soros' largest position, at 16.15% of the portfolio. The company has been paying dividends at least twice a year since 2002, and it pays a yield of 1.47%. The stock carries a P/E of 15.5, with a fairly high price-to-earnings/growth ratio of 17.8.

Cramer's Take: In a recent lighting round, Cramer was bullish on Companhia Vale do Rio Doce. "It is still, along with Freeport(FCX)," which Cramer owns for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust, "and BHP(BHP), among the cheapest mineral stocks. ... I'm not going to sell it yet. It's just too darn cheap, too well-run.

To watch Alix Steel's video take of this column, click here.

JetBlue Airways

Next on the list is JetBlue Airways(JBLU). Soros recently increased his position in the discount airliner by over 50%, and it now comprises 4.74% of his portfolio.

Cramer's Take: In more than one lightning round, Cramer was bearish on JetBlue, saying "JetBlue is another airline that's problematic. JetBlue is a distinctly bearish equation. If you need an airline, it's Gol Linhas Aereas(GOL).

Qualcomm

Next we visit Qualcomm(QCO). Soros recently increased his position in the San Diego communication company by over 55%, and it now comprises 4.39% of his portfolio.

Cramer's take: "This proprietary semiconductor stuff, I am not going to endorse here. ... I would ring the register." Cramer recommended Qualcomm and Texas Instruments(TXN) instead. He said he is sick of Qualcomm's underpromising, but in a lightning round he revealed that he remains bullish on the stock.

Halliburton

Last on today's list is Halliburton(HAL). The Houston-based oil company accounts for 3.02% of Soros' portfolio.

Cramer's take: On Halliburton's current situation, "I am not denying pressure-pumping price pressure. I am just saying that the company's stock reflects the dramatic increase in pressure-pumping capacity that is driving rates down."

Cramer says he'd buy Halliburton, as people are worried about a preannouncement, but given that it just announced the date of its earnings, he believes that the worries are overblown. He doubts animosity against it, saying, "If Halliburton's so bad -- like NYSE(NYX) -- what's it doing going up a day after a big Goldman downgrade?

We realize that we sampled only a few of Soros' stocks, but we still thought it made sense to get Cramer's take on at a least a few of Soros' largest holdings that many of us are looking at on a daily basis. The goal is to continually build an "edge," so if this gives us even the slightest improvement in our approach, then it is well worth it. To see Cramer's take on many more Soros holdings, please check out this portfolio.

---