Jim Cramer on Johnson & Johnson, China and Earnings

May 12, 2023

in Trade Tube

Reading Time: 2 mins read

Happy Tuesday.

At the opening bell, the Dow was down 149.95. The Nasdaq was down 47.19, and the S&P 500 was down 16.53.

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Elliott and eBay
Elliott Management, the hedge fund known for its activist investing, disclosed that it has a 4% stake in eBay Tuesday morning.

The hedge fund said that eBay’s management should “turn its singular attention to growing and strengthening marketplace”, asserting the group is “far from broken, and its future should be bright”. Elliott’s five-step plan, the activist said, outlines a value creation opportunity that would take the path of Ebay shares to between $55 and $63 each by 2020, reported TheStreet’s Martin Baccardax.

eBay said that it will “carefully review” the letter from Elliott.

Johnson & Johnson
Real Money stock of the day Johnson & Johnson released earnings Tuesday, Jan. 22.

TheStreet’s Martin Baccardax reported that Johnson & Johnson posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings Tuesday and forecast a modest increase in full year sales for 2019 as the consumer healthcare group looks to rebound from last month’s steep share price declines, triggered by a report that alleged it knew for decades that its iconic baby powder sometimes contained asbestos and failed to alert authorities.

Earnings Lookahead
Cramer wrote about earnings in a column for TheStreet:

But this week’s most important earnings reports might seem like odd ones — Halliburton and Stanley Black & Decker. They’ll be important because both stocks stand for sectors that have been under real pressure.

Halliburton has a lot to live up to after Schlumberger reported a quarter with bountiful cash flow and put to rest the notion that its dividend is problematic. However, Schlumberger’s U.S. business was down by double-digit percentages and the rig count on Friday showed a shocking 21-rig decline.

Halliburton is much more levered to the United States than Schlumberger is, particularly for shale drilling. I fear that HAL could knock down SLB after Schlumberger’s magnificent three-point rally on Friday.

Both Halliburton and Stanley Black & Decker reported Tuesday morning, so now it’s time to find out what Cramer thinks post-earnings.

Cramer on China
In his morning column over on Real Money, Cramer weighed in on China’s weakness and what it could mean:

Either way, the weakness in China improves the prospect of a trade deal — provided that the Chinese somehow become willing to acknowledge that they steal IP. I bet they are trying to figure out how to show that they do.

The solution is pretty easy: Grant our companies the rights to operate independently of China, be willing to prosecute those who steal, including the execs who run Xiaomi, and then let the telcos offer subsidies for Apple phones on par with domestics, and it’s a done deal.

Which other stocks stand to benefit? CAT and HON were among Cramer’s 16 picks.

Schlumberger and Apple are both holdings in Jim Cramer’s Action Alerts Plus portfolio.

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