Panic is never an investing strategy, Jim Cramer reminded his Mad Money viewers Monday, as he reviewed Friday’s Omicron-inspired selloff. This is a market that wants to be bought, especially on the dips, Cramer explained, and that’s why those who sold on Friday out of fear lost money Monday.
We still don’t know a lot about the latest Covid variant, but we’ve seen this movie before. Unlike the original strain, we now have the ability to produce vaccines in months, and we also have Covid treatments that can keep people out of the hospital. That’s why there are no signs of lockdowns to contain Omicron, which helps the markets quickly rebound off their Friday lows.
Over on Action Alerts PLUS, Chris Versace and Bob Lang review what Omicron means for airline, hotel, and related tourism shares, as well as the opportunities for Abbott Labs (ABT) – Get Abbott Laboratories Report and others that provide test kits. Get more of their investing insights and trading strategies with a special offer for Action Alerts PLUS.
The final reason Cramer said he’s not worried about Omicron is that it imposes no systemic risks to the markets. That was not the case during the 2008 financial crisis, but it is the case today.
“Good things can still happen,” Cramer reminded viewers, especially when we have Pfizer (PFE) – Get Pfizer Inc. Report and Moderna (MRNA) – Get Moderna, Inc. Report looking out for us.
From Selloffs to Great Deals
There’s always a bull market somewhere, Cramer says, and that’s even true if Omicron creates another economic slowdown with continued mask-wearing and social distancing. There are a lot of companies that are immune to a slowdown, and those are the stocks investors should be looking at during selloffs like we saw on Friday.
Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report is the first stock to come to mind. Amazon does great when consumers are scared to shop at the mall and when companies are flocking to the crowd at a record pace. Then there’s Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Microsoft Corporation Report, another cloud giant that also has an enterprise software upgrade cycle to benefit from. Cramer added Palo Alto Networks (PANW) – Get Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Report to his list as well, as cybersecurity will never go out of style.
Shares of Netflix (NFLX) – Get Netflix, Inc. Report are up 32% for the year, as new content continues to drive new subscribers.
In addition to the technology, Cramer said no one ever went wrong investing in American Electric Power (AEP) – Get American Electric Power Company, Inc. Report. He also recommended UnitedHealth Group (UNH) – Get UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Report and Centene (CNC) – Get Centene Corporation Report in the healthcare sector. For investors looking to housing, Cramer recommended both Lennar (LENNAR) and Toll Brothers (TOL) – Get Toll Brothers, Inc. Report.
Finally, in the retail sector, Cramer said he’s considering Home Depot (HD) – Get Home Depot, Inc. Report, Lowe’s (LOW) – Get Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Report, Tractor Supply (TSCO) – Get Tractor Supply Company Report and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) – Get Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Report, all of which have been proven to have the staying power to beat the pandemic.
Watch the Reopening Stocks
If Omicron turns out to be better than feared, investors need to be prepared to invest in the reopening stocks. That means having a shopping list at the ready.
Among Cramer’s favorite reopening names were travel and leisure stocks like Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) – Get Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Report, American Express (AXP) – Get American Express Company Report and Marriott (MAR) – Get Marriott International, Inc. Class A Report, all of which can be bought on any weakness. Cramer was also a fan of Macy’s (M) – Get Macy’s Inc Report after speaking with the CEO recently, along with American Eagle (AEO) – Get American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. Report.
Electric vehicles remain red hot, and Tesla’s (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report only competition at scale is shaping up to be Ford (F) – Get Ford Motor Company Report.
Two stocks investors should avoid, at least for now, are Walt Disney (DIS) – Get Walt Disney Company Report and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) – Get Wynn Resorts, Limited Report. Cramer said he got Disney wrong, as theme parks remain derailed by Covid and growth at Disney+ has left investors unimpressed. As for Wynn, it got hit with the triple-play of Delta, a gambling crackdown in China and now Omicron, all of which have beaten the stock mercilessly. These stocks will eventually recover, Cramer said, but the bottom is not yet at hand.
Executive Decision: Shopify
In his “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify (SHOP) – Get Shopify, Inc. Class A Report, for an update on the Black Friday shopping weekend.
Finkelstein said that small businesses are the real winners of the holiday shopping season so far and Shopify customers booked a record $2.9 billion in sales on Friday alone. That’s a 21% increase over 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
While it’s still too early to tally up the total Cyber Monday sales, Finkelstein was able to predict that sales would also surpass last year’s volumes. The Shopify platform has been processing up to $1.5 million per minute thus far on Monday.
Shopify’s mission is to support artists and small business, Finkelstein added, which is why they continue to innovate with new products and offerings and continue to expand internationally. The future of business will be global, he said, and all of the most popular brands today are getting their starts on Shopify. The barriers to success have never been lower, he said, and only Shopify can turn your idea into a global phenomenon.
Time to Win the Covid Fight
In his “No Huddle Offense” segment, Cramer said it’s time to get serious about Covid and stop bending over backward for the non-believers.
The only way to end this pandemic once and for all is to go to war with it and mandate vaccines and boosters for everyone, right now. The current approach of using the CDC, FDA, individual companies, and now OSHA to weave together vaccination policies just isn’t going to get the job done.
It wasn’t that long ago that this country was at war with another virus, polio. At the time, no one knew where it came from or how you got it, but once a vaccine became available, the government told everyone to get it, and they did.
That’s the only way to get this done, Cramer concluded. Only when the U.S. is completely vaccinated will we be able to ignore the latest variants and finally get back to normal.
Lightning Round
Here’s what Cramer had to say about some of the stocks that callers offered up during the “Mad Money Lightning Round” Monday evening:
Matterport MTTR: “I’ve never made any money with 3D. I’m gonna have to take a pass.”
Oscar Health (OSCR) – Get Oscar Health, Inc. Class A Report: “I see no reason to own this insurance company. We’ve got plenty of other good ones.”
Lemonade (LMND) – Get Lemonade Inc Report: “This is a great company, but not a great stock. “
Bionano Genomics (BNGO) – Get Bionano Genomics, Inc. Report: “There’s not much there. I like CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) – Get CRISPR Therapeutics AG Report.”
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) – Get Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Report: “There’s not a lot of excitement with this one, but as the price goes lower, it’s a better value.”
Chegg (CHGG) – Get Chegg, Inc. Report: “I think Chegg is actually a buy here. I think it’s come down enough.”
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