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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Quanta Leap

TheStreet.com Staff

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

After a day like Thursday, when investors feel like they're at the mercy of the stock market, what people need is a powerful business, one able to take control of its own future, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Thursday. "We need Quanta Services (PWR)."

This small mid-cap stock, he said, has what it takes to withstand market volatility. Quanta has also recently acquired its main competitor, InfraSource Services.

This merger, which closed on Oct. 30, should allow Quanta to cut $20 million in costs next year and save money, he said. More importantly, he added, it will give the company scale, or more control in negotiating business.

Quanta is a play on infrastructure, "a bull market that is still holding up," Cramer continued. It is focused on the "nation's dismal power grid" and among other things, puts up cell phone towers and traffic lights. Quanta's customers have the money to pay the company for its services, he said.

In addition, the power grid builder's "big and juicy" backlog gives it earnings visibility, Cramer said.

Quanta may get pushed around by the market in the near future, but with one merger, it's taken the future of its business into its own hands, according to Cramer. He said the company has laid the groundwork for lifting the stock much higher, and analysts should further help this happen.

For people who are able and willing to invest in a stock now, he recommended buying Quanta. This stock is going to empower itself, Cramer said. If people must, they can buy some tomorrow, but he said he'd rather they study the stock and buy it next week.

Aeccom Has Action

Aecom (ACM) is another infrastructure play people should take a look at, Cramer advised viewers.

It is among only a few companies that can handle the large construction projects it undertakes, he said. And, as is the case for Quanta, there are a few reasons for the stock to go higher.

First, after catching a nice upside since he recommended it earlier this year, Cramer said the stock has been punished. Aecom, now down nine points from its 52-week high, has reached the level where people can start buying it again.

Second, people should look for companies with solvent customers, and there is no client more solvent than the government, Aecom's primary client, Cramer said.

Finally, competitor Washington Group International (WNG) is being taken private, which means new money will come to Aecom.

Cramer said Aecom should garner some attention with two major contracts. It is building the permanent Path station at the World Trade Center in New York, and it has the contract to build the Second Avenue rail system in Manhattan.

California Pizza Kitchen Cools

Cramer welcomed Rick Rosenfield, California Pizza Kitchen's (CPKI) cofounder and co-CEO, to the show and asked him about the company's slowed expansion.

It's always been the company's goal, Rosenfield said, to not build to a predestined goal or number of stores. "We are looking for quality," he said. "It isn't growth for growth's sake, because we care about our brand."

Although the company has been "moving with the sector," it hasn't been given credit, and that is "frustrating," Rosenfield said. Despite cost pressures, the restaurant chain has been operating successfully and its royalty stream gives it some insulation, he explained.

The restaurant business is tough right now, but it may not be tough the same time next year, Cramer said. Market players should take a look at this stock and do their homework on it. All he said he can say is that "it's a quality-run operation."

Sudden Death

During the "Sudden Death" round, Cramer was bearish on Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE), Tata Motors (TTM), Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) and Gerdau AmeriSteel (GNA).

Sell Block

During his "Sell Block" segment, Cramer told viewers he is worried about private equity.

Even though people who work there are all geniuses, he doesn't see what's so smart about owning these stocks.

Blackstone (BX) and Fortress (FIG) have convinced people to invest in their companies, but it's time to sell them both, Cramer said.

The people who run the two firms might be smart, but when that's all investors really know about a company, it's not enough, he said. In either case, Cramer said he doesn't know how well the company is doing or how much they're going to make for the next quarter.

Even though both stocks are down significantly since their initial public offerings, he said he would sell them.

Moreover, if Cerberus was public, Cramer said he'd be telling people to dump that stock, too.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on EMC (EMC), Hologic (HOLX), Schering-Plough (SGP), MedcoHealth (MHS), Intel (INTC), Becton Dickinson (BDX), Tiffany (TIF), Costco (COST) and Kohl's (KSS).

Cramer was bearish on Rite Aid (RAD), VMware (VMW), Medtronic (MDT), St. Jude Medical (STJ), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Boston Scientific (BSX), Advanced Semiconductor (ASX) and Arthrocare (ARTC).

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

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