For the last few years, CNBC’s Jim Cramer has given investors many ways to play the “stay-at-home” economy — the increasing number of products and services that make it easy to eat, live and be entertained from the comfort of your couch.
And while his past recommendations like GrubHub, Take-Two Interactive Software and Logitech still hold up, the “Mad Money” host wanted to flag some new spins on the stay-at-home space.
First, he turned to the food space, where he highlighted Conagra Brands, a packaged foods giant with a strong frozen foods segment.
“Conagra’s a classic stay-at-home play,” Cramer said. “You stockpile their food so that you can heat it up and make it for yourself in front of the TV or the computer rather than going to a restaurant.”
While other packaged foods stocks have been underperforming of late, Conagra’s shares have been fueled by the company’s recently announced $8.1 billion acquisition of Pinnacle Foods. The combination would make Conagra the second-largest frozen food company in the United States after Nestle.
“Many people felt that Conagra is paying too much. I think the superb management team … totally gets it,” Cramer said.
“The Pinnacle deal turns ConAgra into a growth food stock, and that’s a real rarity. The darned thing is still pretty cheap,” he continued. “Think of it as a play on the freezer aisle, which is integral to the stay-at-home economy.”
Next, Cramer looked at entertainment. While Netflix is an obvious stay-at-home play, the “Mad Money” host also took a liking to the Walt Disney Company, a legacy name with some quickly adapting digital properties.
Shares of Disney had struggled for years to break away from the pressure of ESPN’s subscriber losses. But Disney’s recent win in the Twenty-First Century Fox bidding war completely changed its tune, Cramer said.
If the deal closes, Disney’s “going to be in a fabulous position to either license their content to streaming video providers on very favorable terms, or to launch their own streaming platform, which is the idea they’ve been talking about lately,” he said. “The best part? Even with the recent run, Disney still sells for less than 15 times [next year’s] earnings [estimates].”
The newly public Spotify was also on Cramer’s radar. With a non-promotional management team, a subscription-based business and a solid footing in the music streaming market, Spotify’s prospects looked mighty strong to the “Mad Money” host.
“The big tech sell-off crushed Spotify and it’s now trading $8 bucks below where it was before it reported those amazing user numbers. I think that’s crazy,” he said. “This pullback is a gift and I think the stock is a buy right here.”
Finally, for investors seeking more under-the-radar names, Cramer recommended Prologis, a real estate investment trust focused on logistics and warehouses, and Turtle Beach, a company that makes high-end computer peripherals like headsets for gamers.
Prologis’ thesis was simple: its No. 1 customer is Amazon, practically the king of the stay-at-home economy, and the REIT recently announced that it would buy DCT Industrial Trust, cementing its leadership in the space.
As for Turtle Beach, Cramer admitted that its stock was much more speculative. Shares of the video-gaming play have rallied more than 1,400 percent year to date.
“The bottom line? When you have a powerful long-term theme, don’t just sit on your winners,” Cramer concluded. “Think about who else could benefit from it and augment your hand. When it comes to the stay-at-home economy, you might want to add any one of these … [to] your shopping list. Include one. Oh, and maybe even Turtle Beach, but only for pure, unadulterated, rank speculation.”
Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Amazon.
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