Cramer has some fears about U.S. companies – well, at least about their potential to register any sizable growth compared with their overseas counterparts. So today he wanted to share his “Three Bs” portfolio with Home Gamers to keep them safe just in case America starts to languish.
The portfolio is made up of the only American companies that don’t export – and Cramer feels comfortable recommending: medical-device firms. First up is CR Bard, a $9 billion company Cramer thinks could be an acquisition target. BCR is a market leader in some types of catheters and hernia-repair patches, and according to Cramer, last year 80% of their sales came from products in markets where Bard is either number one or two in market share.
The stock is up 25% since Cramer first recommended it, way back on Dec. 7, 2005. It was back then that he also called it a takeover target, and he’s sticking with that prediction. BCR’s market cap is relatively small, which makes it easy to swallow, and with the Bush administration’s time in office limited, Cramer thinks an acquisition could be more likely – if it were going to happen at all.
The main reason CR Bard made the cut – any of the Bs made the cut, for that matter – is because recession or not, slow growth or not, people still need healthcare, and this company is a master of vascular, urology and oncology products. There’s also that half a billion in cash the company is sitting on, which could be used for a share buyback or some acquisitions of their own.
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