Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club hosts a “Morning Meeting” livestream weekdays at 10:20 a.m. ET. A recap of Wednesday’s key moments. 1. Stocks rose again on Wednesday on hopes that the Iran war is nearing a resolution. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index led the way, rising about 1.5% on the day, while the S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose steadily. The move built on Tuesday’s monster rally in which all three major indexes posted their best one-day gains since May. Jim Cramer cautioned against thinking that some market watchers are chalking this up to just “a short squeeze,” but it’s meaningless. “Every bull market in 42 years on Wall Street has started with a short squeeze, so if you think that’s all there is to it, watch out. It could be the real deal,” Jim said. President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the nation on Wednesday at 9pm ET, which may help markets better understand what will happen next in the Middle East. 2. Following a series of disappointing earnings reports, we are lowering Nike’s rating to 2, the equivalent of a hold. Many Wall Street companies also lowered their stock prices, including JPMorgan. Headline earnings and sales beat consensus, but the main issue is Nike’s weak guidance forcing Wall Street to once again lower expectations for the future. Jim acknowledged that the turnaround was clearly taking longer than expected and that turnaround CEO Elliott Hill had misjudged the timing. China’s inventory problems and weaknesses have not yet been resolved. “That was a very bad call,” Jim said. A flurry of insider buying from Hill and other board members in December also turned out to be misguided. We generally consider insider buying to be a bullish signal. Two consecutive poor quarters put Nike officially in the penalty box. “I don’t want to see three. That probably means I’m out,” said Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis. 3. Boeing stock rose again on Wednesday, posting another 5% gain on top of Tuesday’s similar-sized gain. Wells Fargo analysts initiated coverage on the club with a buy rating and a price target of $250. They named it a top pick as well, and Jim is still a big fan. “I think this is also one of my favorite names,” Jim said. The stock has fallen in recent weeks as investors worried that the Iran war could lead to a slowdown in travel. But Jim said he was not surprised that the stock had rebounded so strongly on hopes that the fallout from the war was easing because “orders never went down.” “I think Boeing is a launching pad at this point,” he added. 4. The stocks featured at the end of Wednesday’s video were Advanced Micro Devices, American Express, Walt Disney, RH, and Constellation Brands. (Jim Cramer Charitable Trust is long NKE and BA. See here for a complete list of 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.
