Jim Cramer Blog

Bullish calls:
Vodafone (VOD): 'You know I like VOD!... It's part of my European invasion... ' Verizon (VZ): 'Ivan Seidenberg [CEO]... why have you been hiding? Why don't you come on the show? You know I love you... I do. I think he's fabulous.' Unilever (UN) Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI): 'I think the merger happens in the first quarter. I've been recommending this stock since $2.75 … you're going to get $6, when the deal comes across... At $6 bucks, then we're done.' Hologic (HOLX): 'This one is - buy, buy, buy! - my absolute favorite right now, when it comes to diagnostics. It was knocked down a couple of points because of that financing..' FCStone Group (FCSX): 'It's just unbelievable how good FCSX turned out to be, and I'm sorry that I gave it just a trade, and not an investment.' Best Buy (BBY): 'BBY is best in show.' Costco (COST): 'I like BBY. Not as much, though, as I like 52-week high, Costco!' Sonic (SONC): 'But SONC is in there buying back stock. It's a regional-to-national store chain. I reiterate that I like that stock very much!' Diamond Offshore (DO): 'Maybe you take a little off the table, but that is some great company!' Transocean (RIG): 'I don't like [Diamond Offshore] as much as I like Transocean.'
Bearish calls:
Broadcom (BRCM): 'No way, no way... sell, sell, sell! BRCM is just challenged.' LHC Group (LHCG): 'I 'm not a believer in that business.' Qualcomm (QCOM) Centex(CTX)
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Labels: BBY, BRCM, COST, CTX, DO, FCSX, HOLX, Jim Cramer, LHCG, Lightning Round, Mad Money, QCOM, RIG, SIRI, SONC, UN, VOD, VZ

The Fed Gets a Clue: Kellogg (NYSE: K - News), Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB - News), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB - News), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM - News)
Commenting on the Fed announcement, Cramer said, "What we got was, frankly, what we needed, and we rallied." The Fed decided to allow the interest rate to remain at 5.5%, a move Cramer says shows the Fed "may be heartless, but its not clueless." He predicts the Fed is heading towards a rate cut, which he thinks will happen in October. He also detected a hint at government intervention to solve the housing crisis, and Cramer thinks the Treasury Secretary or the President may ask Fannie Mae to help relieve some of the credit pressure. In the meantime, Cramer would buy defensive stocks such as K, SLB and KMB and would concentrate on oil, agriculture and infrastructure.
Getting Defensive: Unilever (NYSE: UN - News)
Cramer likes UN as a defensive stock to depend on in down times, because it a major producer of packaged foods, is international and therefore unaffected by US credit problems, and has a generous 3.6% dividend cushion. In addition, nearly a third of its sales come from emerging countries; "It's a play on people getting richer around the world," Cramer said. Since the stock has risen a bit, Cramer suggests letting it drop a few points before buying.
CEO Interview: Doron Gerstel Syneron Medical Ltd. (NasdaqGS: ELOS - News)
Cramer was puzzled that Syneron, which reported 52% US growth and 21% European growth, got hammered after its phenomenal quarter. The company also has a deal with Procter & Gamble to develop a non-invasive skin product and a fat remover. The mystery was solved when Cramer spoke with CEO Doron Gerstel who commented that everyone is jumping on the "aesthetic bandwagon; The main concern the market has is that it's looking at the competition, and more and more companies are doing initial public offerings," he said. "They're worried about saturation in the sector." Cramer commented this may be a cause for serious concern and suggested holding off buying ELOS until it becomes clear whether or not the company will be pressured by new IPOs.
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: ELOS, FNM, Jim Cramer, K, KMB, Mad Money, SLB, UN

Here are 7 options to watch for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Options Indicators page. The list is created using OptionVue options analysis software.
Most Underpriced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Mastercard Inc. Oct 180 Calls (NYSE:MA - News). MA's PowerRating is 7.
Most Underpriced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Sep 90 Puts (NYSE:CMG - News). CMG's PowerRating is 3.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
American International Group, Inc. Aug 65 Calls (NYSE:AIG - News). AIG's PowerRating is 5.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Goldman Sachs Sep 160 Puts (NYSE:GS - News). GS' PowerRating is 5.
Stocks with Abnormal Call Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual call option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Call Volume Alerts list suggests a possible takeover, extraordinarily good earnings report, or other news which may favorably affect the stock.
Unilever (NYSE:UN - News). UN's PowerRating is 6.
Stocks with Abnormal Put Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual put option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Put Volume Alerts list suggests an extraordinarily negative earnings report, or other news which may negatively affect the stock.
Myriad Genetics Inc. (NasdaqGS:MYGN - News). MYGN's PowerRating is 6.
Abnormal Put/Call $ Volume: These stocks have the highest dollar put volume in relation to their call volume. These high ratios are indicative of extreme bearish sentiment in the underlying stock.
AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR - News). AMR's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: AIG, AMR, CMG, GS, MA, MYGN, stock options, UN

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Avon (NYSE: AVP), Unilever (NYSE: UN), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Kellogg (NYSE: K)
Cramer is perplexed by PG's performance; "This should have been their quarter," he said. He is now questioning the company's Gillette acquisition, its buybacks and product lines. On the other hand, AVP, UN, CL, KO, GIS and K all reported strong quarters while PG has businesses in every one of those sectors. Cramer discussed how AVP CEO Andrea Jung finally pulled it together and AVP moved from $34 to $38 and $39. Cramer feels there is still room for AVP to run, especially as investors start selling PG.

Labels: AVP, CL, Dennis Kozlowski, GIS, Jim Cramer, K, PG, UN, Wall Street Confidential

Pacer International Inc. (NasdaqGS:PACR - News) reported fourth-quarter net income of $21.5 million, or 57 cents a share, up from $20.4 million, or 54 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 29 fell to $502 million from $503.8 million a year ago.
PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP - News) said fourth-quarter profit rose 60%, helped by a tax benefit, lower expenses, strength in its international business and robust sales of non-carbonated drinks and salty snacks in the U.S.
Protective Life (NYSE:PL - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose, as the company recorded investment gains of 28 cents per share, to $85.2 million, or $1.19 a share, from $68.6 million, or 96 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year. Before items, quarterly per-share income fell to 91 cents from $1.02 in the prior year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected per-share earnings of $1. The insurance and investment products company said it sees 2007 operating income per share of $3.60 to $3.80.
Riverbed Technology (NasdaqGM:RVBD - News) said it plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement to offer five million shares in an underwritten secondary public offering. The San Francisco-based company said about 2.65 million of the shares will be offered by certain Riverbed stockholders. The company also said its fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $2.41 million, or 4 cents a share, from $4.73 million, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier, as revenue surged on product demand and customer growth. Excluding stock-based compensation, the company earned 3 cents a share for the most recent period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average, quarterly earnings of 1 cent a share, before items. The San Francisco wide-area data service company's revenue for the quarter rose to $33.8 million from $10.6 million a year ago.
Silicon Laboratories (NasdaqGS:SLAB - News) agreed to sell its Aero single-chip phone and power amplifier product lines to NXP for $285 million. The cash deal also includes additional earn-out potential of up to $65 million over the next three years. The semiconductor company expects the deal to close by the end of the first quarter.
Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPC - News) said it swung to a loss of $18.8 million, or 38 cents a share, from a profit of $2.3 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding non-recurring items, such as a loss from discontinued operations and a restructuring charge, the Atlanta consumer products company would have earned 12 cents a share in the quarter ending December. Revenue fell 0.3% to $564.6 million from last year's $566.3 million, as a 6% drop in battery sales offset 7% growth in Remington branded product sales and a 4% increase in Global Pet sales. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had been expecting earnings of 8 cents a share and revenue of $640.3 million, on average.
Syntax-Brillian Corp. (NasdaqGM:BRLC - News) shares gained after the Tempe, Ariz.-based maker of HDTVs and digital entertainment products reported fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $14.8 million, or 25 cents a share. In the same quarter last year, the company posted a net loss of $1.23 million, or 4 cents a share. Revenue rose to $242.5 million from $60.2 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast a per-share profit of 24 cents on revenue of $241.8 million. For the fiscal third-quarter, Syntax-Brillian expects revenue of $160 million to $170 million, and for fiscal 2007, the company expects revenue of $650 million to $700 million.
Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL - News) reported an "uptick" in sluggish housing demand in several markets as the luxury home builder's cancellation rate came down but said it may post quarterly writedowns as high as $160 million or more, which would handily top its previous estimate for all of 2007.
Unilever (NYSE:UL - News) (NYSE:UN - News) reported a fourth-quarter profit surge, although it lacked sales growth due to difficulties rejuvenating its European operation.
Warner Music Group (NYSE:WMG - News) said its profit dropped 74% to $18 million, or 12 cents a share, as revenue declined 11% to $928 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 24 cents a share on revenue of $945 million. The company said it faced "unusually difficult" year-ago comparisons, and it said digital revenue represented 11% of total revenue during the quarter. Softer domestic and European sales hurt its recorded music division, while music publishing revenue edged up 2%.
Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WMI - News) posted a 15% drop in fourth-quarter earnings compared to a year ago when hurricane clean-up profits bolstered the bottom line.

Labels: BRLC, PACR, PEP, PL, RVBD, SLAB, SPC, TOL, UL, UN, WMG, WMI

Bullish calls:
Boeing (BA): ' ... it's two thumbs up, way up. That Wachovia guy who downgraded BA - he is going to be so massively wrong, it is frightening... 'Transocean (RIG): ' We like RIG.'Halliburton (HAL): ' ... yes, I'll stick my neck out once again, that HAL will be good.'NYSE (NYX): 'There's a story out there ... It says that there's going to be a massive lockup expiration, where everybody can sell 20 million shares. All the bears are keying on that ... my canvas of the stock tells me that none of the big holders is going to sell that stock. That's why NYX - which is my growth stock of the year - is headed to nothing short of $200!'Hain Celestial (HAIN): 'I would recommend HAIN as best of breed.'Level 3 Communications (LVLT): 'I say you should not be worried. This stock has had a miraculous run. But, it just again cleaned up its balance sheet even more by offering stock. This is one of my growth stocks that are speculative for the year. I reiterate my buy and, if it ever goes below $6, obviously you back up the truck!'Schering-Plough (SGP): 'I would vastly prefer SGP or JNJ [to PFE].'Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)Amgen (AMGN): 'I like AMGN and I like DNA for a little bit of growth.'Genentech (DNA)American Ecology (ECOL): ' ... look at ECOL.'Unilever (UN): 'I've been watching this stock creep up, and I keep saying to myself, 'Why didn't I recommend it? I knew that a turnaround was in place . I have missed UN. My bad. Is it too late to get in? No. Buy, buy, buy!'Diageo (DEO)Rackable Systems (RACK): 'I think it's way overdone to the downside ... I think you wait until the summer, you'll catch a bounce ... you stick with RACK. I don't want to go away from it.'eBay (EBAY)USG (USG): 'The only in-housing play that I've been recommending consistently is USG... I came back and said that stock is going higher. Swap out of yours and go into USG!'
Bearish calls:
Valero Energy (VLO): ' ... don't think VLO's going to do much. It's up 3 bucks, down 3 bucks... I'd like you to take the trade off though. I just don't think that, with oil and gas this low, that you really want to trifle with any of these things to buy on the way down, so let's ix-nay that trade when it comes in a little, and let's play on the long side.'SunOpta (STKL): 'We're swapping out of STKL and we're going into HAIN... 'Georgia Gulf (GGC): 'The only in-housing play that I've been recommending consistently is... Swap out of yours and go into USG!'Pfizer (PFE): 'You've got what I call dead money ... Keep selling PFE. It's just like owning a bond, but a little less exciting.'Republic Services (RSG): ' ... when we buy a company at twice its growth rate, in terms of a P/E, it's been catastrophic for us. So I want you to sell that one - sell, sell, sell.'
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Labels: AMGN, BA, DEO, DNA, Ebay, ECOL, HAIN, HAL, Jim Cramer, JNJ, LVLT, Mad Money, NYX, RACK, RIG, SGP, STKL, UN, USG, VLO