Mad Money Recap

Cramer's 'Mad Money Recap': Next Week's Game Plan

TheStreet.com Staff

05/09/08 - 08:01 PM EDT

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


"My game plan for next week is a traditional one," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Friday.

He focused on a handful of companies that he feels will make investors money when they report their earnings next week.

On Monday, McDermott (MDR Quote - Cramer on MDR - Stock Picks) reports its quarterly results, and Cramer expects its earnings will be light and take the stock lower, creating the perfect opportunity to buy competitor Foster Wheeler (FWLT Quote - Cramer on FWLT - Stock Picks), a company which he owns for his charitable trust Action Alerts PLUS.

On Tuesday, Cramer suggested buying Wal-Mart (WMT Quote - Cramer on WMT - Stock Picks), saying he thinks the stock is headed to $60 a share.

On the flip side, Cramer said apparel company Liz Claiborne (LIZ Quote - Cramer on LIZ - Stock Picks) also reports on Tuesday, and that would be the perfect opportunity to sell. He called Liz Claiborne the quintessential sell, saying the company is still years away from a turnaround.

Cramer called agriculture giant John Deere (DE Quote - Cramer on DE - Stock Picks), which reports its earnings on Wednesday, one of the premiere American manufacturers and a great brand name. Deere is thriving in the midst of global oil and food shortages and he expects the company to blow out their numbers.

Finally, he expects technology giant Hewlett Packard (HPQ Quote - Cramer on HPQ - Stock Picks), which reports its earnings on Thursday, will post a big quarter. But he said no one will care. "Hewlett is old technology," he said, "and while it's the best of a breed, you just can't invest in it right now."

He told viewers to sell half of their positions before the company reports and the other half after they report.

Cramer: Stocks Ripe for Euro Takeover

The Next Big Turnaround

For speculative Friday, Cramer changed his opinion and recommended auto parts maker Visteon (VC Quote - Cramer on VC - Stock Picks) as a speculative stock investors should consider. Cramer said Wall Street used to call the company the "Victim's Club," for it's symbol "VC", but that symbol now stands for the "Victor's Club."

According to Cramer, Visteon shares are on the move because of its aggressive cost-cutting measures. Visteon recently reported a stellar quarter, posting a $51 million profit when Wall Street was expecting a $40 million loss.

Cramer said the numbers at Visteon are improving across the board, with gross margins up to 7.1% from just 4.2% last year. "That tells me the turnaround is working and makes me a buyer," he said.

Stockpickr

Yet every analyst still rates Visteon either a neutral or a hold. Cramer expected the company to continue to under-promise and over-deliver with its low-ball guidance predicting just break-even cash flow for the year.

Visteon is making significant strides in cost savings, according to Cramer. The company sold 23 unprofitable plants, trimming 18,000 high pay union employees from its payroll. Visteon was also able to transfer some of its burdening healthcare costs to its former parent Ford (F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks).

Cramer also cited Visteon's continued diversification as another strong point. In 2004, sales to Ford accounted for 70% of Visteon's business. Today it's down to 40% and is expected to fall to 25% as the company ramps up deals with Hyundai and Nissan among others.

Although Visteon's high debt and need for refinancing in a few years "is a worry," he called the company "a real automotive turnaround story."

Missing Out on a Double

Cramer told viewers how he missed the mark by not recommending Continental Resources (CLR Quote - Cramer on CLR - Stock Picks) earlier this year. He said he considered recommending the company in January, but never pulled the trigger.

In January, Continental was at $26.15, a 52-week high, and while he thought the company was great, he waited for a pullback. Shortly thereafter, the stock did pull back to $22 a share, but Cramer opted to wait for an even lower price.

Then the shares jumped to $28 a share, but still Cramer did nothing. He then missed the move completely as Continental spiked from $25.91 on March 24, 2008 to its current level of $53.22.

"The lesson to be learned," he lamented, "is there's no perfect pitch in this game." He said Continental continues on a roll after reporting a great quarter recently, beating Wall Street estimates by four cents a share and predicting production growth of 48% for 2008.

"If I had followed my own rules, I would've mentioned this one to you," Cramer said. "As long as oil and gas stays strong, this one keeps going higher."

The Wall of Shame's New Member

Cramer updated his "Wall of Shame" list of the worst CEO's. He elevated Martin Sullivan, CEO of AIG (AIG Quote - Cramer on AIG - Stock Picks), to the top of the list for his horrible management of the company.

"This company is moronic and I don't trust I thing they say," Cramer said. "This is a disgrace."

"This stock would go up 10% to 20% if this man were fired," he said, adding he had pleaded to AIG's board of directors to do just that.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Apple (AAPL Quote - Cramer on AAPL - Stock Picks), Intel (INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks), Marathon Oil (MRO Quote - Cramer on MRO - Stock Picks), Gencor Industries (GENC Quote - Cramer on GENC - Stock Picks), First Solar (FSLR Quote - Cramer on FSLR - Stock Picks), Applied Materials (AMAT Quote - Cramer on AMAT - Stock Picks), XTO Energy (XTO Quote - Cramer on XTO - Stock Picks), Devon Energy (DVN Quote - Cramer on DVN - Stock Picks), CSX Corp (CSX Quote - Cramer on CSX - Stock Picks), Union Pacific (UNP Quote - Cramer on UNP - Stock Picks), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI Quote - Cramer on BNI - Stock Picks), Norfolk Southern (NSC Quote - Cramer on NSC - Stock Picks) and Potash (POT Quote - Cramer on POT - Stock Picks).

Cramer was bearish on Juniper Networks (JNPR Quote - Cramer on JNPR - Stock Picks), Sunoco (SUN Quote - Cramer on SUN - Stock Picks), Commscope (CTV Quote - Cramer on CTV - Stock Picks), Genentech (DNA Quote - Cramer on DNA - Stock Picks), Sunpower (SPWR Quote - Cramer on SPWR - Stock Picks), Ormat Technologies (ORA Quote - Cramer on ORA - Stock Picks), Energy Conversion Devices (ENER Quote - Cramer on ENER - Stock Picks), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB Quote - Cramer on FITB - Stock Picks), Farm & Construction Machinery (GTE Quote - Cramer on GTE - Stock Picks), Intrepid Potash (IPI Quote - Cramer on IPI - Stock Picks) and Mellanox Technologies (MLNX Quote - Cramer on MLNX - Stock Picks).

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.