Every weekday, Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club releases the Homestretch, a practical afternoon update to coincide with the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Friday market is mixed. The past few days have been eventful, with President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against many European countries putting pressure on the start of a shortened holiday week, followed by an agreement on the framework for a future deal on Greenland that sent stocks higher. Despite all this, the S&P 500 was able to end the week relatively unscathed. The beginning of 2026 was filled with talk about rotations from the Magnificent Seven and the expansion of the market bull run. But at least on Friday, the tech giants are getting some revenge, with Amazon, Metaplatform and Microsoft posting big gains. Meanwhile, the club’s finances have been the hardest hit, with Capital One, the club’s name, leading the decline after missing out on profits from high-priced investments. The company also announced it would acquire corporate card issuer Brex for $5.15 billion. When it cut its position in December, it pointed to higher-than-expected investment risks. The market may not like the fact that management is currently planning to consolidate two deals, which could theoretically slow down the pace of share buybacks. Nevertheless, we’re fans of the deal with Brex, and we don’t fault CEO Richard Fairbank for pursuing an exciting growth opportunity that enhances Capital One’s mode of doing business. After falling nearly 7% on Friday, Capital One stock is now down about 10% since the December sale. Given the magnitude of Friday’s decline, and developments that we believe will ultimately strengthen rather than hurt the company, we raise our rating to 1, the equivalent of Buy. DuPont was named a Catalyst Call Buy Idea by Deutsche Bank. Analysts believe that the company’s first quarterly report, scheduled for February 10, after the Qnity Electronics spin-off “will highlight a new era of stability, simplicity and clarity.” The analyst also noted that he believes DuPont is trading at a 34% discount to the total value of the parts. While we agree that the stock is still too cheap relative to its peers, we don’t expect another separation or breakup anytime soon. DuPont hit a new 52-week high on Friday, extending its post-Qnity spinoff gain to about 29%. Qnity has been volatile since going public on November 3, reaching a record high on Wednesday, but rebounding over the past two days. The company reduced this position on Thursday and booked profits after a strong move towards early 2026. Honeywell has filled its aerospace bench ahead of its expected separation in the second half of 2026. The aerospace business, which trades under the ticker symbol HONA, has appointed Josh Jepsen as CFO of its aerospace division, effective February 23. Mr. Jepson comes to the company from Deere, where he has served as CFO since fall 2022. Aerospace was also nominated. Leader in electronic solutions, engine and power systems, and control systems. Each leader was a longtime Honeywell executive. The Company believes this update represents another significant step towards separation and will create value for shareholders in the long term. Next week is one of the busiest weeks of the quarter, with about 20% of the S&P 500 index scheduled to report earnings. Regarding the portfolio, we will hear from Boeing on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Corning, Danaher, GE Vernova, Starbucks, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. Dover, Honeywell and Apple joined on Thursday. The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to meet on Wednesday, with the central bank’s policy committee widely expected to keep interest rates on hold. (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
