In an uncertain investing environment, CNBC's Jim Cramer likes to highlight "the best of the best" of the "slowdown plays," or stocks that do well in a weaker economy.
So, on Tuesday, the "Mad Money" host profiled the turnaround at Bausch Health Companies, the drugmaker formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Joe Papa, Bausch has undergone what Cramer said "may be the greatest turnaround story of this particular era."
Shares of Bausch, which changed its name from Valeant in July 2018, have more than tripled from their April 2017 lows. The company's latest quarterly report handily beat expectations on earnings and revenue, with organic revenue growth in all of its segments.
"How did Papa do it? First, he told us that he was going to start cleaning up the hideous balance sheet," Cramer said. "Second, he explained that Valeant really did have an attractive pipeline of new drugs, they just needed to double down on developing the good ones. Third, he had to … motivate the staff. It was an incredibly dispirited workforce."
The CEO's hard work has already paid off, but according to Cramer, Bausch's stock is "not done" and is "dirt-cheap" at its current price-to-earnings multiple of seven times next year's earnings estimates.
"The bottom line? Joe Papa has orchestrated an amazing comeback at Bausch Health. The results speak for themselves, which is why I believe, in the end, this story has more room to run," the "Mad Money" host said.
Don't give up on FAANG
Cramer is tired of seeing negative Wall Street coverage suffocate the stocks of and FANG, his acronym for , , and Google, now .
"Perhaps the most maligned" of them all is Apple, shares of which fell below their 200-day moving average on Tuesday as they dragged on the broader market, Cramer said.
"The stock has been getting shelled lately, down $41 from its highs, and it shows no sign of stabilizing," he said. "I can see how [buying] Apple here might feel like jumping in front of a speeding freight train."
But analysts, who have been the iPhone maker's stock with , may be overlooking the possibility that Apple anticipated some sales weakness on Nov. 1, he said.
Click here for his full analysis.
Slowdown signals?
needs to take note of the economic forces already weighing on the U.S. economy before it plans more rate hikes for 2019, Cramer argued after yet another wild trading session on Wall Street.
"It's important to recognize that the most important inputs ... for future inflation are already going lower, not higher. It'd be crazy to ignore that," he said Tuesday. "While I think [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell's been mistaken in his approach, he's not crazy. The man is prudent — there's no reason for him to be rash, especially not with the deflationary impact of the helping him."
As the strong dollar squeezes global companies' profits because overseas currencies are translated into fewer dollars, higher interest rates are crimping domestic demand for real estate, Cramer warned.
"We've seen steady and construction projects at a host of banks. , ... the biggest utility in the country, in activity," he said. "We know that and are just abysmal. And while assured us of , it acknowledged that housing is slowing."
Click here for his full take.
The chart master's top 2018 trades
When the stock market is this volatile, Cramer likes to use technical analysis to get a better read on the investment landscape.
With Wall Street awaiting the Fed's decision on whether it will pause or continue hiking interest rates after December, companies are facing a binary outcome, he said: either the Fed pauses after the widely anticipated December hike and 2019's earnings results are more or less safe, or it doesn't, and cyclical companies are likely suffer.
But even "in a confusing and volatile market, there are still trades that have worked year-in and year-out for decades," Cramer said Tuesday as stocks ticked up after a brutal .
For more on that, he turned to Larry Williams, a legendary technician with over 50 years of experience trading futures, commodities and stocks. Cramer called Williams, who has also written 11 books, created numerous technical indicators and runs the website IReallyTrade.com, a "chart master."
Click here for Williams' top two trades for the end of the year.
Zebra Technologies CEO talks China
Zebra Technologies, a maker of high-tech printers, barcode scanners and other types of trackers and mobile devices, is fielding possibilities of moving some of its supply hubs out of China, CEO Anders Gustafsson told Cramer on Tuesday.
"We have a team, cross-functional team, that is looking at all ways that we can mitigate," he said in an exclusive interview. "What's been announced, so the first three lists, impacts only a very limited number of our products."
Even so — and despite the fact that Zebra has nearly 50 percent market share in its space, according to Gustafsson — the company is exploring ways to shift production away from the center of the Trump administration's target on trade.
"We're looking at things all the way from moving supply chains out of China to sourcing components elsewhere," the CEO told Cramer. "We're looking at including pricing. That's also on the table."
Click here to watch Gustafsson's full interview.
Lightning round: Netflix of China?
In Cramer's lightning round, he sped through his take on callers' favorite stocks:
: "I have enough problems with the of America. I don't need the Netflix of China. We are going to say don't buy."
: "It's going to be a powerhouse [when closes]. I happen to love industrial gases and I happen to like Linde very much. I would take advantage of this decline. Not all at once, please. Do some buying."
Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet.
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