Cramer Remix: Snow storms could make this a winner
Cramer Remix: Snow storms could make this a winner ·CNBC
Abigail Stevenson
Updated
On days like Thursday when there is a nice bounce in the averages, Jim Cramer reminded investors that sometimes it simply doesn't pay to get too negative.
"In fact, there are times when being excessively skeptical can really hurt you," the "Mad Money" host said.
An example of this was Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL), the off-price retailer with 540 stores predominantly known as Burlington Coat Factory; it pulled off an amazing feat last week.
While the rest of the apparel group has been in pain due to an unseasonably warm winter, Burlington pre-announced its fourth- quarter results and reported the low end of what analysts were expecting.
Yet, instead of the stock getting crushed, it surged 14 percent in a single session!
"This is what happens when Wall Street gets too negative — you had so many people anticipating even worse numbers in the expectation that a company that sells winter coats would get obliterated after the heat wave lasted through Christmas," Cramer said.
Cramer thinks many money managers were shorting the stock. But when there was too much negativity surrounding a stock, it does not need much good news to send it higher.
Cramer got a glimpse into the mind of the market on Thursday and was surprised at the connection between the rising price of oil and stocks that rally. It totally blew his mind.
"We live and die with oil. You figure out where oil is going, then you have figured out where the market is going," the "Mad Money" host said.
As the price of oil rose on Thursday, Cramer found something amazing — it is not the averages that rally when oil goes higher, it is only certain parts of the market.
Things went from counterintuitive to completely crazy when Cramer saw what stocks rallied as oil spiked. There were colossal gains in consumer spending stocks like retailers, restaurants and travel and leisure stocks. The ultimate lunacy was when Cramer saw the airlines and cruise ship stocks rally.
What do all of these stocks have in common? Their earnings go up when the price of gasoline goes down.
The market rallied on Thursday simply because the price of oil spiked.
Does this mean that a bottom in oil has finally been found? Maybe, but Jim Cramer thinks, given the history of oil, that could be harder to predict than most expect.
When Cramer was recently researching the history of crude oil, he came across various articles written last year at this time, when oil was in the high $40s.
The talk back then was all about whether oil would have a V-shaped recovery back to $100, or if it would be a U-shaped recovery back to $70.
"Considering the history, I guess you could say it could happen again, because if there is one thing we can learn from reading the back pages, it is that nobody seems to know anything about nothing when it comes to the price of oil," Cramer said.
Cramer thought that 2016 was supposed to be the year of the financials. The Federal Reserve was poised to raise interest rates four more times. But now, Cramer finds it hard to believe that the Fed will actually follow through with that plan given the massive collapse of commodities and slowing worldwide economy.
That is why he turned his attention to First Horizon National Corp, which has a large regional banking operation under the First Tennessee brand, with more than 200 locations spanning the South of the U.S.
First Horizon's stock came down 4 percent following earnings recently, as the bank's earnings were hit by an 18 percent rise in non-interest expenses. However, Cramer found great news buried in the quarter — that First Horizon has hardly any energy exposure. To learn more, Cramer spoke with First Horizon's chairman and CEO Bryan Jordan.
"I fundamentally think that the economy continues to be strong, that the overall recovery continues at the slow-to-modest pace we have had the last several years. And so given the strong loan growth, the strong credit quality it is a little surprising that we traded off since the beginning of the year, but as I said we will buy a little back in our stock repurchase program," Jordan said.
Occasionally a privately held company does something so unique and innovative, that Cramer wants investors to hear about it. BionX Medical Technologies is the creator of battery-powered prosthetic lower limbs that helps people to walk almost as if they still had both their legs.
"Whoever built the six million dollar man has nothing on these guys," Cramer said.
To learn more, Cramer spoke with BionX CEO Dr. Chuck Carignan.
"The challenge today is that most prosthetic limbs are passive in nature. Meaning that the person needs to use their own body to move their leg forward … They get tired quickly and they have a lot of pain issues associated with that. So with this technology we can overcome all of those issues," Carignan said.
In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks:
Emerson Electric Co: "I think Emerson, even with that 4 percent yield, is not a buy because they keep missing the numbers."
Baidu Inc: "No, we don't recommend Chinese stocks on this show. We have enough problems with American stocks."
