Much of Wall Street is worried that sliding oil prices could be a sign of global economic weakness, but CNBC’s Jim Cramer offered a counter-theory on Friday as he prepared investors for the week ahead.
“I read the decline in oil as an issue of supply overwhelming demand, not demand waning,” he said on “Mad Money.” “When that happens, it’s terrific for both consumers and for business. You’re paying less at the pump; industry’s paying less on the big bill.”
Cramer acknowledged that worries about the Federal Reserve’s rate hike agenda would also underscore next week’s earnings reports. Still, he asked investors to stay level-headed until the market gets more clarity on the economic layout.
“When we see this entire mosaic of earnings reports, we should get a pretty good snapshot of whether the consumer is still as strong as she’s been, but, of course, hopefully not so strong that the Fed feels the need to reiterate that it needs to burn down the economic village in order to save it,” he said.
Click here for Cramer’s full game plan, which includes earnings reports from cannabis play Tilray, Macy’s and more.
While Cramer was blown away by the recent “incredible resurgence” in shares of Crocs, the shoemaker behind the ubiquitous rubber clogs loved by kids and teens, he still wouldn’t recommend the stock.
“I think the company deserves a lot of credit for this turnaround, but I wouldn’t buy the stock of Crocs unless you’re a real daredevil because betting on teenagers? Well, let’s just say it is always a risky proposition,” he said Friday.
Shares of Crocs popped 27 percent in Thursday’s trading session after the company reported third-quarter earnings with a surprise profit jump. Clog revenue — about half of the company’s total income — grew by 12.7 percent. The shoemaker also announced a partnership with popular rapper Post Malone, a self-proclaimed fan of the shoes.
The success runs counter to rumors that Crocs was shutting down, floated after the company closed its last manufacturing store in August. After the closing, Crocs assured its fans that it wasn’t going out of business and would continue manufacturing its products through third parties.
Click here for Cramer’s full take.
Toymaker Funko has a notable “competitive advantage” in the world of online battle-royale gaming craze Fortnite, its CEO Brian Mariotti told Cramer on Friday.
“We’re the first one to grab a license, we’re the first one to have the product in the marketplace and our category, so we think we have a competitive advantage there,” Mariotti said on “Mad Money.” “Early sell-throughs seem very, very positive. I think this is going to be a great property for us.”
One of the most-played games on the internet, Fortnite has toymakers racing to create products around its wildly popular brand. Hasbro also recently announced a partnership with its publisher, Epic Games, to create a Fortnite-themed Monopoly game.
Funko, whose popular big-headed dolls have taken the world by storm, sells various licensed collectibles tied to everything from sports to movies to music. Shares of the toymaker were down 21.45 percent by day-end on Friday after an earnings report that disappointed Wall Street.
Click here to watch and read more about Mariotti’s interview.
Since the spring, biotechnology giant Amgen has gone from hated to loved, with shares up 11 percent for the year. Cramer, who recommended the stock in May and whose charitable trust owns shares, attributed the move to three distinct factors.
“What makes Amgen so attractive here? Part of it is the slowdown thesis — if you believe the Fed is going to tighten too aggressively and really put the kybosh on the economy, as I do, Amgen’s exactly the kind of company that can keep putting up good numbers even in a slowing economy,” he said.
The other two wins? Amgen’s leading drug for treating migraines, Aimovig, which came out in May and has already logged 100,000 patients, and Amgen’s shrewd price cuts for Repatha, its formerly very pricey cholesterol-reducing drug, Cramer said.
“Amgen has taken control of its own destiny here, and with the stock selling [at] 13 times earnings, … I think this one could have a lot more room to run,” he said.
Cramer is tired of high-performing companies getting the runaround from investors after reporting strong earnings.
“We’ve seen so many companies report great numbers this quarter and the market has yawned or even trashed their stocks for no good reason, other than misperception,” he said.
Using Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings as an example, Cramer pointed to its healthy results, as described by the cruising giant’s CEO on “Mad Money.” But investors have all but given up on the stock, which is down over 8 percent for 2018.
“It’s being viewed as a cyclical company with a boom-and-bust stock, and everybody’s acting like we’re headed into a bust. I think that’s plain wrong,” he said, noting that all of Norwegian’s ships travel fully booked and that the company has already booked 65 percent of its rooms for 2019. “How can that be a cyclical company?”
He found that the skeptics were wrong in most of their criticisms: the cruise operator is raising prices, not keeping them flat; boosting capacity to match demand; drawing younger customers and benefiting from lower oil prices, he argued.
So, rather than labeling Norwegian a “show-me” stock, investors should wake up to the idea that the company has “shown” and its stock “should be bought,” Cramer said. “Enough already.”
In Cramer’s lightning round, he shared his concerns about the Fed with callers:
Leggett & Platt Inc.: “I actually like Leggett & Platt very much, but I’ve got to tell you that we are in a housing bear market that is even being made and exacerbated by [Federal Reserve Chair] Jay Powell, so I can’t — even though it has a 4 percent yield — say you should buy it.”
Bank of America Corp.: “I like B of A. I think that B of A is terrific. But understand it’s just going to be stalled here until the Fed gives us a little more direction that they don’t want to wreck the economy.”
Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Amgen.
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