Cramer’s week ahead: Don’t underestimate the market’s small gains

After stocks muscled their way slightly higher on Friday, CNBC’s Jim Cramer advised investors not to underestimate a market that’s putting up small gains.

The S&P 500 crawled 0.19% higher to 4,247.44, a record close.

“Some would say it’s the calm before the storm … I learned a long time ago that you never short a dull market,” the “Mad Money” host said. “It’s good news that we’re being lulled to record highs and the market keeps shrugging off negatives, including yesterday’s scorching hot inflation numbers.”

Elsewhere, the Dow Jones Industrial Index inched up 0.04% to 34,479.60. The Nasdaq Composite increased 0.35% to settle at 14,069.42.

In the week ahead, Wall Street will turn its attentions to producer price index data on Tuesday and a readout from the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday. The producer price index, which measures how much companies pay producers for goods, could also be hot, Cramer said.

Either way, investors may be able to find opportunities in the market, he said.

“I want you to find relatively inexpensive stocks of good companies, and then you can buy them on the cheap because of this genuine Wall Street gibberish that drives down some stocks unfairly,” he said. “Whether they’re value or growth names makes no difference to me or to Cramerica.”

Cramer gave viewers a preview of the upcoming corporate earnings reports he has circled on his calendar. Projections for revenue and earnings per share are based on FactSet estimates:

Oracle

• Q4 2021 earnings release: after market; conference call: 5 p.m.
• Projected EPS: $1.31
• Projected revenue: $11.02 billion

“This boring, old-school enterprise software company has seen its stock surge 28% year-to-date, thanks to a remarkable acceleration in its core businesses,” Cramer said. “I bet it reports a fine quarter.”

Lennar

• Q2 2021 earnings release: after market; conference call: Thursday, 10:30 a.m.
• Projected EPS: $2.37
• Projected revenue: $6.10 billion

“Stuart Miller, the former CEO and current executive chairman, likes to give you the state of the state on housing on that conference call,” he said. “We know there’s been an immense amount of inflation in the raw materials that go into a house, although lumber’s come down. But the final cost barely creeps up and that’s thanks to the ingenuity of these excellent builders.”

Kroger

• Q1 2021 earnings release: before market; conference call: 10 a.m.
• Projected EPS: 98 cents
• Projected revenue: $39.56 billion

“Kroger’s stock has become a standout performer, and that’s because it’s a major beneficiary from inflation,” Cramer said. “I actually do expect a terrific number from Kroger, not many people are thinking that.”

Jabil

• Q3 2021 earnings release: before market; conference call: 8:30 a.m.
• Projected EPS: $1.04
• Projected revenue: $6.95 billion

“Jabil does a lot of business with Apple, and Wall Street loves playing silly guessing games by trying to extrapolate from Jabil’s results to Apple’s,” he said. “I wish they’d just focus on Jabil itself, which has been an amazing stock, up 36% for the year. Another unsung stock of an unsung company in an unsung bull market.”

Adobe

• Q2 2021 earnings release: after market; conference call: 5 p.m.
• Projected EPS: $2.81
• Projected revenue: $3.73 billion

“Lately [this] stock’s been meandering and that has usually been the best time to buy it,” the host said.

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