Here is Cramer’s Game Plan for next week:
Thermo Fisher has an analyst meeting Tuesday, so Cramer recommends getting in ahead of that. TMO is, as Cramer puts it, “an arms merchant to the very flush biotech companies.” The recent merger with Fisher Scientific gave the company a virtual lock on scientific instruments, a brilliant move that the analysts should praise Tuesday.
Retail sales suffered in April, but that should give investors a chance to get strong stocks on the cheap, Cramer says. They’re priced for failure, and that gives Home Gamers an opportunity to buy the ones that fail a little less and make a quick buck. To that end, he would buy some JC Penney before it reports Thursday and Kohl’s before its Friday report.
Actually, Cramer’s so confident in retail right now, he’d put half a position in Home Depot ahead of its Tuesday numbers. He’s not banking on good numbers – actually, they will probably be pretty bad – but the new management could announce an initiative to dump the plumbing and hardware supplies business that former chief Bob Nardelli brought in. If HD gets a good price, Cramer says, the stock could rally no matter how bad the earnings.
The biggest beat of the week should come from Jack in the Box. Those better-than-expected numbers should come courtesy of the Qdoba chain buried within the restaurant chain. Mexican food is the new pizza, Cramer says.
Deere should report good numbers as well, but Cramer doesn’t recommend buying before the release. The stock has already run too much.
There’s also a sleeper stock Cramer wants Home Gamers to look at. Cleveland Cliffs is an iron maker in an industry that’s being overrun with consolidation. He says the company will have to fight hard to maintain its independence. CLF reports Wednesday after the close, and “it’s going to be a big winner,” Cramer says.
Bottom Line: Your Game Plan has a lot of retail because Cramer thinks the worst is baked in. Don’t forget that Thermo Fisher analyst meeting on Tuesday or Cleveland Cliffs, one of the last great American iron companies.
Questions? Comments? madmoney@cnbc.com