Cramer Remix: My warning to the market cynics

Scott Mlyn | CNBC. Jim Cramer broke down the action in the market and explained why he thinks investors can’t afford to be too cynical.·CNBC

CNBC's Jim Cramer has realized that it can actually hurt investors to be cynical in this beast of a market. "So much of what's driving this market can seem artificial, but Wall Street doesn't make any distinction between natural drivers and artificial ones. They're all the same," the " Mad Money " host said. And there's no shortage of artificial drivers. Credit Suisse upgraded Carnival Cruise Line's (NYSE: CCL) stock to "buy" from "hold" and boosted its price target — a seemingly obvious move given the broader strength in cruise line bookings — and the stock still went up. Piper Jaffray's price target increase for the stock of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to $1,400 a share from $1,200 also sent it soaring. The reason for the boost? Analysts had underestimated how much shares of Amazon would rise. "Is that a good reason to buy a stock, a price target increase? Hey, it's still worse than because of an obvious earnings boost from a tax cut, or an obviously stronger consumer, or an obvious relative underperformance compared to similar sectors. It's what gets things moving these days," Cramer said. "You've got to understand that in a beast bull market like we're in, we don't look through these kinds of situations to find fault in their reasoning. We simply recognize, 'Yeah, that's enough to send a stock to go higher. I want in.'"Tailwinds for consumer stocksOne thing became clear to Cramer as he spoke to various consumer-facing CEOs at ICR's annual investment conference: the consumer is better off than many people think."The consumer is alive and well and spending. The consumer wants value. The consumer wants reliability. And the consumer will pay for it," Cramer said. "It almost feels like you can throw darts at the stocks of the consumer companies ... and end up with a winner." As institutional investors and money managers chase industrial stocks for gains, Cramer found it worth turning his focus to the consumer cohort. Here are the six tailwinds he sees. Children's Place CEO on digital advantage The Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE) has undergone transformations in various key areas including inventory, distribution and digital channels under President and CEO Jane Elfers. As she steers the company towards international success, Elfers told Cramer on Tuesday that the company's digital efforts are being driven by a crucial customer demographic: millennials. "We have the dream customer. We have a 28-year-old millennial mom customer who's pushing us from a digital point of view even faster than we can push ourselves," Elfers said. "You look at some of the other traditional retailers or traditional department stores, they have a much older core customer. We have the sweet spot."Kohl's CEO makes case for brick-and-mortar As major retail chains continue to close stores nationwide, Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) Chairman, President and CEO Kevin Mansell told CNBC that his company's success actually stems from its physical locations. "Physical presence is important in people's mindset as they think about where to shop," Mansell told Cramer on Tuesday. "Regardless of whether they shop in the store or online, if you have a physical presence, you're top of mind. So having a physical presence is critical."Speaking from ICR's annual investment conference, Mansell doubled down on the bull case for brick-and-mortar, emphasizing the need for retailers to serve "a more omni-channel consumer.""We're not in malls," the CEO said. "Ninety-five percent of our stores are off-mall, and they're mostly single-level, free-standing, easy to get in, easy to get out."Canada Goose CEO: We don't make 'stuff' Canada Goose's (Toronto Stock Exchange: GOOS-CA) increasingly common red patch is something of a badge of pride for Dani Reiss, the president and CEO of the newly public company. "Our products are investment apparel. I think that's why we're able to grow through recessions, because during recessions, people saw our products as good purchases and the value is absolutely there," Reiss told Cramer on Tuesday at the ICR conference. "And for us, [in] everything we do, the most important thing is that we make a best-in-class product." Shares of Canada Goose are up over 90 percent since the company's IPO in March 2017, and to Reiss, that's no accident — it comes from a delicate combination of inventory management, brand management and high product standards, he said. "Our products are special. They're not commodities," the CEO said. " We're not about slapping logos on stuff. We don't make 'stuff.' We make best-in-class products. And I think that from a point of view of brand management, one of the worst things you can do is to make bad product and rush to make product because you think you can sell it. And we don't do that."Lightning Round: Energy three-fer In Cramer's lightning round , he flew through his take on some callers' favorite stocks: Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) : "Look, Duke is fine. No one's ever gotten hurt in Duke. But why shouldn't we buy Dominion [Energy] (NYSE: D) right here? I think Dominion's better. I also like ConEd (NYSE: ED) better. I even like AEP (NYSE: AEP) better. So there's three that I think are better than yours. Not urging a sale, but I have to tell you, those are better." Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) : "Not done going higher. A lot of people are trying to call a top. I think the top is nowhere near from here. I think the stock can go to $30." Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - VineQuestions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com CNBC's Jim Cramer has realized that it can actually hurt investors to be cynical in this beast of a market. "So much of what's driving this market can seem artificial, but Wall Street doesn't make any distinction between natural drivers and artificial ones. They're all the same," the " Mad Money " host said. And there's no shortage of artificial drivers. Credit Suisse upgraded Carnival Cruise Line's (NYSE: CCL) stock to "buy" from "hold" and boosted its price target — a seemingly obvious move given the broader strength in cruise line bookings — and the stock still went up. Piper Jaffray's price target increase for the stock of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to $1,400 a share from $1,200 also sent it soaring. The reason for the boost? Analysts had underestimated how much shares of Amazon would rise. "Is that a good reason to buy a stock, a price target increase? Hey, it's still worse than because of an obvious earnings boost from a tax cut, or an obviously stronger consumer, or an obvious relative underperformance compared to similar sectors. It's what gets things moving these days," Cramer said. "You've got to understand that in a beast bull market like we're in, we don't look through these kinds of situations to find fault in their reasoning. We simply recognize, 'Yeah, that's enough to send a stock to go higher. I want in.'" Tailwinds for consumer stocks One thing became clear to Cramer as he spoke to various consumer-facing CEOs at ICR's annual investment conference: the consumer is better off than many people think. "The consumer is alive and well and spending. The consumer wants value. The consumer wants reliability. And the consumer will pay for it," Cramer said. "It almost feels like you can throw darts at the stocks of the consumer companies ... and end up with a winner." As institutional investors and money managers chase industrial stocks for gains, Cramer found it worth turning his focus to the consumer cohort. Here are the six tailwinds he sees. Children's Place CEO on digital advantage The Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE) has undergone transformations in various key areas including inventory, distribution and digital channels under President and CEO Jane Elfers. As she steers the company towards international success, Elfers told Cramer on Tuesday that the company's digital efforts are being driven by a crucial customer demographic: millennials. "We have the dream customer. We have a 28-year-old millennial mom customer who's pushing us from a digital point of view even faster than we can push ourselves," Elfers said. "You look at some of the other traditional retailers or traditional department stores, they have a much older core customer. We have the sweet spot." Kohl's CEO makes case for brick-and-mortar As major retail chains continue to close stores nationwide, Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) Chairman, President and CEO Kevin Mansell told CNBC that his company's success actually stems from its physical locations. "Physical presence is important in people's mindset as they think about where to shop," Mansell told Cramer on Tuesday. "Regardless of whether they shop in the store or online, if you have a physical presence, you're top of mind. So having a physical presence is critical." Speaking from ICR's annual investment conference, Mansell doubled down on the bull case for brick-and-mortar, emphasizing the need for retailers to serve "a more omni-channel consumer." "We're not in malls," the CEO said. "Ninety-five percent of our stores are off-mall, and they're mostly single-level, free-standing, easy to get in, easy to get out." Canada Goose CEO: We don't make 'stuff' Canada Goose's (Toronto Stock Exchange: GOOS-CA) increasingly common red patch is something of a badge of pride for Dani Reiss, the president and CEO of the newly public company. "Our products are investment apparel. I think that's why we're able to grow through recessions, because during recessions, people saw our products as good purchases and the value is absolutely there," Reiss told Cramer on Tuesday at the ICR conference. "And for us, [in] everything we do, the most important thing is that we make a best-in-class product." Shares of Canada Goose are up over 90 percent since the company's IPO in March 2017, and to Reiss, that's no accident — it comes from a delicate combination of inventory management, brand management and high product standards, he said. "Our products are special. They're not commodities," the CEO said. " We're not about slapping logos on stuff. We don't make 'stuff.' We make best-in-class products. And I think that from a point of view of brand management, one of the worst things you can do is to make bad product and rush to make product because you think you can sell it. And we don't do that." Lightning Round: Energy three-fer In Cramer's lightning round , he flew through his take on some callers' favorite stocks: Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) : "Look, Duke is fine. No one's ever gotten hurt in Duke. But why shouldn't we buy Dominion [Energy] (NYSE: D) right here? I think Dominion's better. I also like ConEd (NYSE: ED) better. I even like AEP (NYSE: AEP) better. So there's three that I think are better than yours. Not urging a sale, but I have to tell you, those are better." Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) : "Not done going higher. A lot of people are trying to call a top. I think the top is nowhere near from here. I think the stock can go to $30." Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com

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