The so-called FANG shares have yet to regain their momentum since bouncing from lows during the December sell-off and gave way to the cloud stocks and semiconductors to lead the tech sector, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday.
But with the tide of the market turning, current conditions could present an opportunity for the group to get its “groove” back, the “Mad Money” host said. He called on Dan Fitzpatrick, the founder and CEO of Stock Market Mentor and Cramer’s RealMoney.com colleague, who saw interesting chart action in some of the FANG stocks, including the data privacy-troubled Facebook.
Negative headlines doomed Facebook in 2018 and the stock plummeted too fast and too far as investors thought it would lose its gigantic user base, Cramer said. Fitzpatrick’s charts show that the company has climbed above its 200-day moving average, which makes technical analysts think the stock can be bought again, the host said.
Following a strong fourth quarter report, the stock price has gained more than 30 percent this year and is 5 percent off its mark a year ago.
“Fitzpatrick notes that Facebook has been in [a] resting phase since its big spike in late January,” Cramer said. “Late last week, Facebook started breaking out and Fitz thinks the volatility squeeze could result in some significant upside.”
The technician, who has a knack for making calls on battered internet stocks, also foresees some positive action in other FANG stocks like Google-parent Alphabet and Amazon, Cramer said.
“Some parts of FANG have definitely gotten their groove back. I think FB and Alphabet are worth buying right here,” he said. “Maybe wait for the breakout before picking up Amazon.”
Deal or no deal?
President Donald Trump is in a position to get more concessions or even walk away from trade negotiations with China President Xi Jinping as the Chinese economy weakens, Cramer said.
The U.S. could put more pressure on the Chinese to meet demands to stop stealing intellectual property and allow American companies to operate in China without making joint ventures, among other priorities, he said. Or Trump could walk away and find a better bargaining position, but it could come at a cost he might not want to take on, he added.
“President Trump believes he’s given big business enough of a boost with his tax cuts. He can afford to alienate business with a little tough love on China,” Cramer said. “The wild card: The president may not want the stock market to go down because he views the averages as his Nielsen ratings, and he cares tremendously about his Nielsens.”
Bypassing surgeries and scars
The earlier a doctor can diagnose lung cancer, the better the outcome can be, Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart told Cramer in a one-on-one interview.
The company is cutting past the competition with its da Vinci Surgical System, which allows doctors to find a cancerous mass “transorally” in lieu of surgery, he said. The procedure — which does not involve making any surgical cuts — can help doctors avoid damaging healthy tissue, he added.
“The flexible catheter goes through the mouth. So instead of making any cuts, there are no cuts, it goes into the body and navigates the lungs with computer-aided control,” Guthart said. “And the idea is to pull definitive diagnosis forward in time. So somebody who has a suspicious lesion gets a definitive diagnosis earlier, that’s the goal.”
Churning out small business loans with data
Square Capital, the lending arm of Square Inc., has taken advantage of a market of small- and medium-sized businesses that lack access to traditional financing, the subsidiary’s head Jackie Reses told CNBC.
In a sit-down interview with Cramer, Reses said the financial technology company has leveraged data to serve businesses that aren’t well capitalized. Square reported making out about $472 million in 72,000 business loans in 2018, up 55 percent from the prior year.
“I think one of the unique differentiators of our product is that we can see the data that comes across payments,” she said. Square also offers clients point of sale software. “So we can see the success of these businesses like restaurants, who’ve historically been left out of the financial system because of the type of business that they are.”
The force is with Benioff
Salesforce.com delivered a stronger-than-expected quarter after the bell Monday, but sellers began to ditch the stock because the company offered a tepid guidance, Cramer said.
The shares dropped nearly 1 percent Tuesday and the sellers feel vindicated, but the host, who was skeptical about the company a decade ago, said he learned that co-CEO Marc Benioff was the real deal when he saw what customers were signing on to the cloud service.
Even though Salesforce lost about $10 per share since last Friday, the stock didn’t top $166 last week for no reason, Cramer said.
“To me, this is all kind of nutty. Every time Salesforce.com has gotten dinged, you know what it happened to be? A buying opportunity,” he said. “And guess what: I’m betting this time no different.”
