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Nov.27

10:35 AM ET

Tuesday, 27 Nov 2007

High Growth Is a No-Go

Posted By:Tom Brennan

Topics:Stock Picks | Stock Market

Sectors:Oil and Gas | Health Care

Companies:Medco Health Solutions Inc | Freeport-Mcmoran Copper & Gold Inc | Foster Wheeler Ltd. | Altria Group Inc | Transocean Inc

High growth does not make a stock bulletproof, Cramer said during Monday’s Mad Money.

He learned that lesson the hard way. Back on Nov. 8, Cramer gave Homegamers a basket of five “indestructible” stocks that were supposed to grow regardless of the market. He likened them to a bulletproof vest, which protects as much of the body -- in this case, your portfolio -- as possible. These stocks didn't equal total protection, because in this market there's no such thing, but they were a good defense.

Unfortunately, though, Cramer got them wrong. His not-so-indestructible picks are down about 4%, while the S&P 500 is down 3% over the same period.

Foster Wheeler [FWLT Loading... () ] and Freeport-McMoRan [FCX Loading... () ], the companies with the biggest growth, are down the most, 15% and 20%, respectively. Medco Health Solutions [MHS Loading... () ], Altria [MO Loading... () ] are down a modest 0.5% and 1.8%, respectively. Transocean [RIG Loading... () ] is actually up 1.9%. It’s these dependable little gains that investors want in this environment, Cramer said.

When the same news – an oil rally, a decline in the financials – can both spike and sink the market, consistency matters. Cramer’s making consistency the watchword until investors start seeing a better tape.

Click for the rest of Monday's show:

Jim's charitable trust owns Altria, Freeport-McMoRan and Transocean.

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