Tuesday was a reminder that good things can still happen, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers after a powerful rally on Wall Street. We may talk a lot about the goings on in Washington and the direction of interest rates, but in the end, stocks trade on their own merits.
Nowhere was that more apparent than with Micron Technology (MU) – Get Micron Technology, Inc. Report. Investors were worried about a downturn in Micron as semiconductors remain in short supply. However, today’s Micron is not the Micron of old, which relied solely on a single industry. Instead, Micron is seeing strength in several areas.
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Data centers was the first area of strength Cramer cited, which he said bodes well for stocks like Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report and Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Microsoft Corporation Report, along with other chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – Get Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Report, Nvidia (NVDA) – Get NVIDIA Corporation Report and Marvell Technologies (MRVL) – Get Marvell Technology, Inc. Report.
Micron also saw strength in cell phones, which of course means that investors can buy Apple (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report, Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) – Get Skyworks Solutions, Inc. Report and the many other Apple suppliers.
Micron even went as far as to call an end to the shortage of semiconductors in autos, which made Cramer recommend both Ford (F) – Get Ford Motor Company Report and General Motors GM, with Ford being his favorite.
Finally, Cramer said investors can still buy the semiconductor equipment makers, like Applied Materials (AMAT) – Get Applied Materials, Inc. Report and LAM Research (LRCX) – Get Lam Research Corporation Report.
It’s rare that a single stock can move so many different sectors, but Cramer said Micron had that power Tuesday as investors had forgotten about what could happen with a little good news.
Covid Testing Initiatives
In his first interview segment, Cramer welcomed back Dr. Michael Mina, chief science officer at eMed, to the show to discuss President Joe Biden’s new Covid testing initiatives.
Cramer first asked how it’s possible that he, Cramer, contracted Covid from someone who earlier that day tested negative for Covid. Dr. Mina explained that not only is Omicron extraordinarily contagious, it also ramps up quickly, so in some cases, people can be negative in the morning but infectious in the evening.
The key to controlling Covid will be with access to rapid testing, like Biden outlined Tuesday. Unfortunately, the U.S. has been very slow in approving rapid testing, Mina said, and doesn’t have access to 500 million tests as Biden described.
That means rapid testing will have to be used strategically. If you’re going to an event or plan to be around people, test yourself right before you leave. Then, if you do test positive, you may be able to use treatments like Pfizer’s (PFE) – Get Pfizer Inc. Report new Covid therapy to lessen its effects and duration.
Off the Charts
In the “Off The Charts” segment, Cramer checked in with colleague Carley Garner to learn where the markets might be headed next.
Garner noted that the market’s rally since March 2020 has been highly unusual and is not how markets typically behave. A monthly chart on the E-Mini Nasdaq Futures, for example, shows a sharp move higher over the past 24 months — a move that’s far bigger than what the average was able to do in the years prior to the pandemic.
Looking at a weekly chart of the E-mini S&P Futures, overlaid with a Commitment of Traders report is also worrisome, as the professional money managers are net-long stocks, leaving few people left to keep buying at these levels.
While there is no current sell signal, and the short-term trend is higher, both Cramer and Garner said they think investors need to be wary of next year, when interest rates begin to rise and the economy begins to cool.
Executive Decision: Blade Urban Air Mobility
In his first “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Rob Wiesenthal, founder and CEO of Blade Urban Air Mobility (BLDE) , which today posted strong earnings.
Wiesenthal said that while Blade flies helicopters today, they’re not a helicopter company. Instead, Blade is building the entire ecosystem for urban air mobility, from terminals to technology to customer management. Using their technology, flights are no longer averaging 1.5 people for a six-seat helicopter. Every flight can now be at capacity and make money.
Blade is all about finding high-friction routes that take forever by car but can take only a few minutes by air. That can be trips to the airport or stadiums or wherever you need to go. But the game-changer will be electric vertical-takeoff aircraft, Wiesenthal said, because they’re quiet and emission free, which means they can go just about anywhere.
Vaccination a Patriotic Duty
In his “No Huddle Offense” segment, Cramer sounded off on the epic failure of leadership regarding Covid and the Omicron variant. He said for the past two years, our health regulators have done nothing but confuse the heck out of us, with no accountability for their actions.
Our regulators need to speak with one clear voice and have the humility to admit there’s a lot we don’t know, which means their advice may change from time to time. The CDC undersold the value of masks initially. They also oversold the benefits of the vaccine, making it sound like two shots would be enough, but in reality, we may need multiple boosters to combat changing variants.
The message now needs to be one of acceptable risk. If you choose to not follow the rules, wear masks and get vaccinated, then the risk is on you if you get sick and infect others. The message from our president needs to be one of patriotic duty to get vaccinated and get our country moving again. It should certainly not be one of division, delay, confusion and hubris.
Lightning Round
In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Incyte (INCY) – Get Incyte Corporation Report. He was bearish on Corning (GLW) – Get Corning Inc Report and Icahn Enterprises (IEP) – Get Icahn Enterprises L.P. Report.
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