We recently compiled a list of the Jim Cramer’s Latest Game Plan: 15 Stocks to Watch. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) stands against the other stocks in Jim Cramer’s latest game plan.
Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, recently weighed in on the factors that will shape market movements this week, pointing to the Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting and a slew of corporate earnings reports as key developments. However, despite the importance of these earnings, Cramer believes that the presidential election will take center stage and dominate the market’s attention.
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While acknowledging the significance of the election, Cramer emphasized that the Federal Reserve’s next decision is perhaps even more crucial for the markets. He noted that the bond market has been moving in an unfavorable direction, with the situation further complicated by a disappointing non-farm payroll report.
Though this report was skewed by hurricanes and labor strikes, it initially sparked a positive reaction in the bond market, pushing rates lower. Cramer had hoped that this would signal a positive shift, but the optimism was short-lived, as bond sellers quickly drove rates back up to their highest levels since early July.
“In my opinion, the Fed needs to cut rates again. In the last couple weeks, we’ve heard from too many businesses that have made it clear that we have a real slowdown on our hands. Economy’s a little shaky.”
Cramer also reflected on the Fed’s decision to reduce rates in September. He acknowledged that the bond market reacted negatively to the rate cuts at the time despite an economy that appeared relatively strong and a healthy labor market. Cramer discussed the possibility that if the Fed were to cut rates again, the market could see another unfavorable response. However, he remained unconcerned about this potential backlash, arguing that a rate cut could help to generate optimism in certain sectors.
“At this point in my view, if the Fed cuts rates next week, psychologically there’s some hope that we could see a pickup, particularly in housing and autos, two industries that seem to be losing strength by the day.”
Cramer highlighted that both presidential candidates appear willing to expand the federal budget. His main concern, however, was whether either candidate would be able to push their proposed agendas through Congress, a process he described as extremely difficult. Cramer noted that, in his opinion, presidential candidate Trump would likely be a bigger proponent of increasing the budget deficit than presidential candidate Harris, particularly due to the tax cuts Trump favors, which tend to result in larger deficits.
Stating his bottom line, Cramer said:
“… At the end of the day, the market’s still going to be hostage to the election, and perhaps more important, to the Fed meeting.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 15 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on November 1. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the second quarter, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of more than 900 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A software engineer manipulating a vast network of code on virtual monitors.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
During Friday’s Mad Money episode, Cramer talked about Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR), calling it a cult stock. Here’s what he had to say:
“Palantir stock is one of the best performers of the S&P 500 this year. The cult members who own the stock, they seem eager to push it up to exceed the 2024 percentage gain of Nvidia. Right now, Nvidia’s up 173%, Palantir’s 144%, so it will require some heavy lifting. Now they could pull it off. If the stock gets hit on its numbers, I want you to buy some… It’s insane to watch these buyers by the way… who don’t really care how company’s doing. They just buy the stock because they want it to go higher.”
Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) is a leading developer of software platforms focused on complex data integration and decision-making, serving the intelligence and government sectors and also commercial clients. The company’s product suite includes platforms such as Gotham, Foundry, Apollo, and its enhanced Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), which are designed to help organizations manage and make sense of vast amounts of data. On September 23, the company achieved a significant milestone when it joined the S&P 500 index.
The company is earning a strong reputation for its ability to address intricate data management needs across both government and commercial domains, providing solutions that enable better decision-making and operational efficiency. In recent quarters, it has placed significant emphasis on expanding its AI offerings. This has proven to be a key driver for the company, particularly in the U.S. market.
Palantir’s (NYSE:PLTR) focus on AI has been central to its strong performance in the third quarter and the results were reported on November 4. The company reported Q3 revenue of $726 million, surpassing its initial guidance of $703 million. Adjusted EPS for the quarter was $0.10, outperforming the $0.09 consensus estimate.
The company ended the quarter with $4.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, with no long-term debt. In a statement accompanying the earnings report, CEO Alex Karp highlighted the company’s success, particularly in the AI sector, stating that the demand for AI is “unrelenting” and that the U.S. is at the heart of an AI revolution.
He noted that the company aims to empower those organizations that lead this transformation, positioning the company as a key player in a world increasingly divided between those who can harness AI and those who cannot.
Overall PLTR ranks 10th on our list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s latest game plan. While we acknowledge the potential of PLTR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PLTR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.