Cramer Remix: You need to see this Apple news ·CNBC
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Jim Cramer decided to switch up his research routine on Tuesday. Instead of looking to see what was happening overseas when he woke up at 3:30 a.m., he decided to pretend that the U.S. was an island on its own and focus on corporate data points and companies in the U.S. only to determine how the market would do.
Guess what? It worked!
Simply, Tuesday's market went higher because nothing happened overseas. Greece was quiet; Europe didn't have anything significant and even China had its mouth shut.
That means that investors only had to consider how companies in the United States were doing, and there were so many unexpected gems that they loved.
For instance, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) rallied nicely when investors realized it wasn't doing as bad as they thought it was. The real unexpected gem for the day though, was Yelp (NYSE: YELP). This company just disappointed on Friday, and shocked investors when it announced an acquisition and preannounced a revised positive earnings outlook.
The big whammy came on Tuesday, when Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced a partnership with First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to build a $850 million solar energy farm in California.
"First Solar just announced a very interesting deal with Apple that I think is going to send that stock higher," said the "Mad Money" host.
On his birthday, Tuesday, Cramer was reminded of all of the birthdays that were real doozies and lessons learned along the way. But one constant memory is of his father, Pop.
"When you look back at birthdays you tend to reminisce about when they were really special. With old friends. With my mom and the great birthday cakes. With trips to the zoo or ballgame," said Cramer.
Of all the lessons his father taught him, he showed him how much can go right when the retailers do well. That is why when Cramer looks at strong retail numbers from companies like Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) or L Brands (NYSE: LB), he knows that the ripple effect from these companies is huge.
This could mean more hiring, more merchandise orders and more stores opened ahead. Ultimately, that also means higher stock prices.
Cramer also reflected on retailers such as Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) and Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT). These toy makers have tried to keep up over the years, and while they are still major rivals, they are so different.
Hasbro, the maker of Transformers, Nerf, Play-Doh, My Little Pony and superhero action figures like Superman, hit an all-time high on Tuesday after reporting a fabulous quarter on Monday.
Meanwhile Mattel, the maker of Barbie, Fisher-Price toys, American Girl dolls and Hot Wheels, is bordering closely with its 52-week low and just reported hideous results.
What the heck happened? "Has My Little Pony suddenly become a carnivore and started devouring American Girl?" asked Cramer.
The key is with branded entertainment, which Hasbro has embraced. The toys it has represent merchandising for television and film franchises.
This is especially important, as millennials who grew up watching Nickelodeon and Disney are starting to have children, and these children want to buy a piece of their favorite movie or TV series.
"I think Hasbro remains a buy at these levels, while Mattel should be avoided," said the "Mad Money" host.
However, Cramer has seen over his long tenure of investing that sometimes the market does things that just don't make any sense. As such was the case with his airline fave stock Spirit Airlines, when a vicious downgrade in December caused the stock to drop to $68 from $84.
The stock has now soared back to $80, mainly due to the fact that airlines are the biggest beneficiary in the historic decline in oil prices. Yet the stock still only trades at 15 times next year's earnings estimates, and Cramer thinks it could fly higher.
To find out how Spirit has managed to find opportunity amid a volatile market, the "Mad Money" host spoke with Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza.
"In any market, strong or weak, there is clearly a segment of the market that is most value conscious and is willing to make the trade off in order to get a lower fare for their travel and will accept some of the trade-off that we ask them to make," Baldanza said.
Another stock on Cramer's radar this week is Alkermes (NASDAQ: ALKS). This is a drug company that has made a big turnaround recently, in a good direction. The old Alkermes focused on drug delivery technology to create longer-acting formulations for existing drugs.
The new Alkermes has taken a proprietary approach and has begun to create its own drugs for diseases of the central nervous system. As a result, the stock has rallied 32 percent since Cramer last spoke to the company in November.
To find out if it can keep climbing higher, Cramer sat down with Alkermes CEO Richard Pops.
"We know that if we make the medicines, you all will figure out what our company is worth. We have been so successful in the laboratories and the clinic that we couldn't be more excited about where we are at Alkermes right now," said Pops.
In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks:
Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACHN): "We've said it's a decent spec off of another Hep C. It's a decent spec, but I still prefer Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) which is not in that category...and I like the Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) quarter because I like the cholesterol drug down the pipe."
Baxter International (NYSE: BAX): "Baxter needs to split up. I suggested how to do that in 'Get Rich Carefully.' They better start listening to me; that's one dog stock."
