Friday’s rally wasn’t about Washington, or interest rates or infrastructure spending, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers. It’s all about COVID, particularly Merck’s (MRK) – Get Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Report new COVID oral medication that may reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by up to 50%.
If Merck’s pill helps put COVID in the past, Cramer said that makes stocks the thing of the future.
Over on Action Alerts PLUS, the AAP team is keeping a close eye on a stock poised to profit as COVID threats fade: “Disney’s current valuation may not look cheap at first glance, but we think the strengthening recovery in the theme parks and movie theater business combined with the continued growth in streaming should drive the stock price back towards its $200 highs, if not more. Read all the trading strategies, analysis and investing ideas at Action Alerts PLUS.
What should investors be buying on the Merck news? Cramer said with 10 million people possibly returning to the workforce, he’d look at travel and leisure and anything that’s seen supply chain disruptions, like Honeywell (HON) – Get Honeywell International Inc. (HON) Report or General Electric (GE) – Get General Electric Company (GE) Report.
As for next week’s action, Cramer said he’ll be watching two things on Monday, the latest update on the beleaguered infrastructure bill in Washington and the ticket sales from the new Venom movie, which could indicate if AMC Entertainment (AMC) – Get AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. Class A Report is a buy.
On Tuesday, Cramer said he’ll be watching PepsiCo (PEP) – Get PepsiCo, Inc. Report, which remains a great long-term story. He’ll also be looking toward Europe for their latest economic data.
Later in the week, Cramer’s attention will be on Levi Strauss (LEVI) – Get Levi Strauss & Co. Class A Report and Constellation Brands (STZ) – Get Constellation Brands, Inc. Class A Report on Wednesday and ConAgra Foods (CAG) – Get Conagra Brands, Inc. Report on Thursday. He was bullish on both Levi and Constellation, but said there are far more exciting places to be than ConAgra. He suggested Walt Disney Co. DIS on the heels of the Merck news.
Finally, on Friday, all eyes will be on the latest non-farm payroll numbers, news which will tell us if people are finally starting to return to the workforce.
Executive Decision: Keurig Dr. Pepper
In his first “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Bob Gamgort, CEO of Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP) – Get Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. Report, the beverage company which just wrapped up its annual analyst day.
Gamgort said there were plenty of doubters three years ago when Keurig merged with Dr. Pepper, but since then, the company has delivered total returns of 85%. Keurig Dr. Pepper is now a holistic beverage company, he said, with brands including its namesakes as well as Mott’s, Snapple, Canada Dry and more.
In addition to the $4 billion share buyback program announced today, Gamgort said the company…
Read More: Cramer’s Mad Money Recap 10/1: Merck, AMC, Disney