There are many reasons why a market you think should go down, doesn’t go down, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Monday, and many of those reasons were on display today. Stocks may appear to have been virtually unchanged, but looks can be deceiving, as there were breakouts all over.
Today, Foot Locker had positive things to say about Nike, and that led to a price target increase for Nike. Signet Jewelers received some positive analyst comments as well, helping to boost that stock higher. Meanwhile, it was strong earnings that sent RH up 20.7% and Dave & Busters soaring 14.8%.
News that two activist investors have taken a stake in Allergan was enough to send that stock higher. Cramer said he thinks Unitedhealth Group, Estee Lauder, Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Activision Blizzard could all see number bumps in the near future.
These were just a few of examples of today’s positive action you may have missed, Cramer said, and the bulls are likely to keep on running again Tuesday.
Cramer and the AAP team say they believe Cimarex shares are at or near a bottom, so they’re adding to their position. Find out what they’re telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.
Over on Real Money, Cramer says you should just assume that an activist investor is going to target the shares of a company if you haven’t seen a lot of value being brought out. Get more of his insights with a free trial subscription to Real Money.
Jack Dorsey’s Dual Roles
After mocking Jack Dorsey, for his dual-CEO role at both Twitter and Square , Cramer admitted he’s been wrong about Dorsey, who it turns out has been doing a fabulous job at both companies. Shares of Twitter are up 145% over the past 12 months and shares of Square have risen 166%. Last week, Twitter replaced Monsanto in the S&P 500.
Dorsey has taken what was an unpleasant experience at Twitter and cleaned it up using the latest in machine learning to hide offensive content and purge those responsible. Square, on the other hand, is simply a growth story as the company expands its offerings to small businesses of all kinds.
Cramer’s only advice for Dorsey: Add a paid component to Twitter and stop talking about bitcoin with Square. Other than that, Cramer issued a “Job well done.”
Fulfilling Expectations
Nothing matters more than expectations, Cramer reminded viewers, and in the case of HP versus Hewlett Packard Enterprise, expectations still rule the day.
When these two companies split, it was Enterprise that was the market darling and was supposed to have all of the growth. HP made PCs and printers, after all, how exciting could it possibly be? Yet over the past two years, shares of HP have shot up 77% while Enterprise paled by comparison with only 44% growth.
The story at HP is simple, Cramer explained, as reinvigorated PC market has taken PCs from an 8.6% decline to an 11.3% gain last quarter. Meanwhile, Enterprise has become complicated with multiple acquisitions and the loss of CEO Meg Whitman.
So while HP trades at 11 times earnings, and Enterprise for 10 times earnings, the two are perceived very differently by Wall Street. HP is a steal, but Enterprise has yet to find its footing.
Cramer says when you spend a whole day interviewing and listening to more than a dozen people, as he did Thursday at TheDeal’s Corporate Governance conference, you can come back with a gazillion takeaways. Check out his Top Takeaways over on Real Money.
Brinks Deal Unlocks Gains
Is it time to back up the truck and buy shares of armored car service Brink’s Company, after the company’s announcement last month that it’s acquiring rival Dunbar Armored? Cramer took a closer look at the details to find out.
Cramer said when he recommended Brinks 11 months ago, the company was a turnaround story, as activist investors Starboard Value had just taken a stake in the company. Since then, with activist guidance, the Brinks has moved their IT systems to the cloud, upgraded their fleet of vehicles and turned itself into a consistent operator that sent shares soaring from the $60s into the high $80s by January.
But shortly after, Wall Street got used to the new Brinks, and with Starboard beginning to make a successful exit, much of those gains vaporized. That was, until the end of May, when the Dunbar acquisition was announced, combining the No. 2 and No. 4 players to form what will be the single largest player in the market. Shares instantly rallied 16%.
Cramer said he’s willing to give management the benefit of the doubt and continue to recommend the stock, especially on any weakness, as even with the recent strength, shares still trade for less than 15 times earnings.
No-Huddle Offense
In his “No-Huddle Offense” segment, Cramer tried to make sense of President Trump’s trade policies and what they might mean for the markets. His conclusion? Trump likes to keep things a little off balance, so it’s anyone’s guess what comes next.
Cramer said it’s clear that Trump prefers to side with Russia over Germany, as he sees Russia as less of a competitor to the U.S. and is tired of the U.S. propping up Europe. Thus, he pits our allies against each other to see who blinks first.
As for China, Cramer said Trump is playing hard ball, and he wouldn’t be surprised if Trump bans all Chinese investment in the U.S. as his next tactic.
Why isn’t the market reacting to any of these events? It’s because it’s hard to know what’s for real and what is simply just a short-term tactic. So we’ll simply wait and see what comes next.
Lightning Round
In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Discovery Communications, Viacom Abiomed and Automatic Data Processing .
Cramer was bearish on ADT (ADT) and L Brands.