This market deserves to be hated, Jim Cramer admitted to his Mad Money viewers Monday. It seems like every day we're given a new reason why stocks shouldn't go higher and you can't build a sustainable rally on top of quicksand.
Why can't Wall Street escape the jaws of the bear? There are plenty of reasons. China remains in Covid lockdown with no end in sight. There doesn't seem to be a short-term solution to the war in Ukraine. And here at home, there is a litany of things not to like.
Just today we learned that McDonald's (MCD) will exit Russia for good. We also learned that JetBlue (JBLU) is making another attempt at acquiring Spirit Airlines (SAVE), despite there being no way the deal would ever pass antitrust muster. Shares of Twitter (TWTR) remain in chaos, and bitcoin continues its decline.
Cramer said the only things that are going right for stocks is the fact that everyone knows things are horrible and eventually, bargains are created amidst the weakness.
For now though, all we can do is get used to the pain, at least until something actually goes right.
Executive Decision: Nucor
In his first "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Leon Topalian, CEO of Nucor (NUE), the steel maker with shares that trade for less than five times its earnings.
Topalian first commented on Nucor's recent acquisition of CHI Overhead Doors, saying that Nucor's strategy is to grow its core steelmaking business and expand into new areas where they can add value. Overhead doors, he said, gives Nucor a footing into the warehouse steel market, which has been red-hot as e-commerce expands.
"The digital economy will be built with steel," Topalian reminded shareholders, while saying Nucor remains committed to maintaining a strong credit rating and returning capital to shareholders.
High Yield Stocks
Even during difficult times, there are still stocks that work, Cramer reminded viewers. Today's market poses no systemic risk like we saw in 2008, which means that accidental high-yielding stocks are back en vogue.
Back on March 2, Cramer unveiled a list of 10 such high yielders, and since then, those stocks have fallen an average of 6.7%, beating all of the major averages.
Among the biggest duds were Innovative Industrial Properties IIPR and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), two stocks Cramer said he no longer recommends. In their place, he suggested Huntington Bancorp (HBAN), with a 4.8% yield and Best Buy (BBY), with a 4.1% yield. Whirlpool (WHR) also made the new high-yielders, as did Digital Realty Trust (DLR), the data center REIT with a 3.8% yield.
Executive Decision: Masimo
For his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer also spoke with Joe Kiani, chairman and CEO of Masimo (MASI), the medical device maker with shares off 54% for the year.
Kiani admitted that Masimo could have done better had the company not been stricken by supply chain woes, but he said conditions are improving and he's bullish about the future.
Masimo is still waiting for full approval to introduce its blood oxygen monitoring system for opioid addiction patients. Kiani said the system is already in use at hospitals and allows for in-home monitoring for non-critical addiction patients.
Kiani was also bullish on Masimo's acquisition of Sound United, which he hopes will usher in the next generation of hearing assistive devices. There are "incredible opportunities to improve hearing," he said.
Lightning Round
In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Marvell Technology (MRVL), AbCellera Biologics (ABCL) , Pfizer (PFE), Starwood Property Trust (STWD) and Capri Holdings (CPRI).
Cramer was bearish on Stem (STEM) .
Freedom Carries Risks
In his "No Huddle Offense" segment, Cramer said the democratization of investing comes with sizable risks. Without proper education, people can lose fortunes and entire generations of investors can be lost.
We saw this phenomenon after the dot-com collapse in 2000, when countless inexperienced investors lost it all and stayed out of the market for over a decade. And we're seeing it again in Robinhood (HOOD), the commission-free trading platform that has come under fire for making investing almost too easy.
According to recent reports, Robinhood clients are losing money by making risky bets on meme stocks and cryptocurrencies and trading volumes are now falling as a result.
Investing without education poses risks that are too great for most investors, Cramer concluded, and just saying "buyer beware" isn't enough.
