Morgan Stanley (MS)
Like its financial-sector peers, Morgan Stanley had a solid bull run from last November to this August.
More recently, though, shares weren’t able to maintain that upward momentum. In fact, the stock is down about 10 per cent from its August high.
“This company has done everything right during this period, but because of the inane rotation out of the financials, the stock has been crushed,” Cramer says.
He points out that the investment banking giant was trading at just 12 times earnings, a very inexpensive valuation in today’s market — especially compared to the high-flying tickers on the Nasdaq.
Centene (CNC)
Cramer says Centene has been one of his favorite health insurers “for ages.”
Centene stock is up 17.6 per cent in 2021, which lags behind the S&P 500’s 28.5 per cent gain year-to-date.
Yet Cramer argues that because Centene mostly manages government-run health plans, it would “benefit enormously” from any expansion in Medicare or Medicaid, which the Biden administration supports.
In the third quarter, the company’s revenue grew 11 per cent year-over-year to US$32.4 billion. Management expects full-year revenue to come in between US$125.2 billion and US$126.4 billion.
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Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Johnson & Johnson has pulled back about 12 per cent from its high in August, and its recently announced plan to split into two companies didn’t do much to help the stock price.
Still, Cramer likes the health-care giant for its dividend yield, which stands at 2.7 per cent at the moment.
He also points out the potential of JNJ’s pharmaceutical business after the company spins off its consumer products division.
“The pure-play drug business that will be left will be the fastest-growing big pharma company in the universe. It should become an instant market darling,” he says.
United Parcel Service (UPS)
E-commerce was already one of the fastest-growing segments in the market, and the pandemic-induced stay-at-home environment only made online shopping more popular.
Cramer points out that freight companies like UPS are what make e-commerce possible in the first place.
UPS posted solid earnings last month. In the third quarter, consolidated revenue grew 9.2 per cent year-over-year to US$23.2 billion. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share rose 18.9 per cent to US$2.71.
Management has projected a strong holiday quarter, and that’s got Cramer giddy.
“With the rails roaring, I think that UPS is now going to catch fire, a fire that burns for days if not weeks into the Christmas holiday,” he says.
Yes, UPS currently trades at nearly US$200 per share. But you can still get a piece of the company using a popular app that allows you to buy fractions of shares with as much money as you are willing to spend.
A fine asset with market-beating performance
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If you want to invest in something with huge upside potential that also has little correlation with the ups and downs of the stock market, you might consider another overlooked asset: fine art.
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