Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: July 8
Scott Rutt
07/08/08 - 07:49 PM EDT
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"We've got some new market leaders," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Tuesday. "The drug and health care stocks that were so hated just one week ago were the ones up today."
Cramer said the safest and most consistent group in a market of high energy prices, high raw costs and a slowing economy is healthcare. He said the health care stocks are worth owning, as the big money managers move their money into these recession-proof names.
Cramer cited the AMEX Pharmaceutical index, which fell to a low of 283 recently from 355 but has since rebounded, as one indicator of the groups recent strength.
Within the health care group, Cramer recommended
Smith & Nephew (SNN Quote) as his favorite. The company reported a disappointing first quarter that caused shares to fall 11% from $64.53 to just $57.40 on May 1. Cramer called today's price of just over $52 a share an opportunity to own a great stock at a much too low price.
Smith & Nephew has a diversified portfolio of health care businesses. It gets 37% of its revenues from orthopedic reconstruction and it has a orthopedic trauma, endoscopy, and advanced wound care business as well. Cramer said all of its businesses are good and stable.
Cramer: I've Written Off Lehman |
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Cramer said Smith & Nephew's recent earnings miss was due to its recent acquisition of a Swiss-based company, which created $100 million of additional sales costs along with $10 million in unforeseen investigation costs. "This news was over done," said Cramer, noting the company posted $3.37 billion in revenue for 2007.
With the worst behind Smith & Nephew, he expects the company to begin seeing the benefits of their mergers going forward. He also likes the company's $1.5 billion stock buyback program.
"Health care is back and bigger than ever," Cramer told viewers.
Breaking the Silence
"I think we are still facing some major financial collapses in the banks and brokers," Cramer told viewers.
Despite small run-ups in those stocks recently, he's worried about the fundamentals of
CitiGroup (C Quote),
Bank of America (BAC Quote),
Washington Mutual (WM Quote) and
Wachovia (WB Quote).
And he's worried about the relative silence surrounding
Freddie Mac (FRE Quote) and
Fannie Mae (FNM Quote) and brokers
Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote) and
Merrill Lynch (MER Quote).
Even the Federal government is eerily silent, said Cramer. "You could hear a pin drop." He said the
Federal Reserve is no longer in control of the banking situation and will be powerless to stop at least one of these institutions from failing. He said the Fed needs a plan and needs to let the markets know that there's a plan.
Cramer faulted both presidential candidates for not addressing this on-going issue.
To show how grave the situation has become, Cramer started a stress index last August to gauge the market strength of mainly home builders and banks. The stress index closed today at just 20, having lost 80% of its value.
Cramer urged the Fed to break the silence and let the markets know there is a plan.
In Defense of Steel
Cramer welcomed Dan Dienst, CEO of
Sims Metal Management (SMS Quote) to the show to find out if the mounting pressures on the steel industry are signaling a reversal for the group, or a buying opportunity.
Dienst said that he is not seeing a deterioration of the steel market. "There is still a voracious appetite for metals," he explained. Dienst said his company still has great earnings visibility, and he sees strong demand for steel in the foreseeable future.
According to Dienst, U.S. auto demand is not significant when compared to the global demand for autos and other steel needs.
Cramer told home gamers they should consider beginning a position in Sims or other steel stock.
Mad Mail
In this segment, Cramer told a viewer that he would not put
General Motors (GM Quote) CEO Rick Wagner on his Wall of Shame. Wagner was doing a lot of things right and could not have foreseen oil at $150 a barrel, he said.
He told a second viewer that he's a buyer of
L-3 Communications (LLL Quote) and is not worried about Obama dismantling the defense budget.
Lightning Round
Cramer was bullish on
CONSOL Energy (CNX Quote),
Comcast (CMCSA Quote),
Ariba (ARBA Quote),
Google (GOOG Quote),
Yahoo! (YHOO Quote),
Chesapeake Energy (CHK Quote)
and
John Deere (DE Quote).
Cramer was bearish on
Time Warner (TWX Quote)
and
NYSE Group (NYX Quote).
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.