Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Short-Squeeze Seize

Regardless, Greenbrier is "spring-loaded with short-sellers" with 1.98 million shares sold short, he said. As it has an average daily volume of 519,000 shares traded, it would take the shorts "way too long to close their positions," Cramer said.

In addition, the fact that this stock also has a big insider presence makes Greenbrier an ideal stock to short-bust.

Plus, Greenbrier's backlog for rail cars is strong, and its acquisitions should kick in next quarter, Cramer said, calling the company "excellent."

CAT Bottoms

The truth is that on Wall Street, professionals don't give a hoot where a stock deserves to be; it's where it deserves to sell that really matters, Cramer said.

While it is typical to expect growth from growth stocks, cyclical stocks are stocks for which a growth rate can't be assumed, he said. Their growth rates are dependent on the economy -- on what the Fed does and on the inflow of worldwide capital.

Therefore, the only way to value a play that doesn't control its own future is to pay less for the earnings of that stock, according to Cramer.

For example, when you believe that the economy has peaked and there is no growth ahead, then pay next to nothing for a cyclical stock, he said.

When the economy peaked last spring, Caterpillar (CAT Quote) topped off and then fell off a cliff, Cramer said. "The drop was based on fears that its growth would slow, and the fears turned out to be true," he said.