My Top 10 Things to Watch Wednesday, November 19th 1. The S&P 500 Index was heading higher this morning, trying to end a four-session losing streak. The Nasdaq, which has fallen for five of the past six trading days, was also expected to open higher. Concerns about AI-related valuations continued to weigh on mega-cap tech stocks yesterday. Tonight, all eyes will be on Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report. 2. Today is Nvidia Day. When everyone is worried about something, it’s not as catastrophic as when you’re surprised by something. Nvidia is currently recognized as the only company in this entire AI market. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will explain tonight why companies that buy chips can earn 4x more on them. At the end of the day, people think it’s just making money. However, it’s more complicated than that. 3. Alphabet seems unstoppable because it uses Nvidia. The same goes for Zai, an artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk. Amazon is not using Nvidia enough and is believed to be able to shut it down. Meta is believed to be vulnerable as OpenAI, a seemingly mortal enemy, is attacking Nvidia in large numbers. Apple hasn’t even built a clear AI yet. The iPhone maker is not seen as a victim, but a winner because someone has to pay for access to a large installed user base. 4. Wells Fargo lowered its price target on Home Depot from $435 to $400 after the home improvement retailer’s dismal quarterly report on Tuesday. Analysts are increasingly questioning Home Depot’s professional acquisitions. I would like to hold stocks in preparation for the upcoming Fed rate cut, which should stimulate home sales and renovations. Yesterday, I added to my position after the stock price fell sharply. Club shares rose 1% this morning. 5. That being said, Lowe’s is better than Home Depot. The company announced year-over-year sales growth this morning, and management now expects full-year total sales to be $86 billion. This exceeded the prior estimate of $84.5 billion to $85.5 billion. The stock price soared more than 4%. However, Lowe’s slightly revised its full-year profit forecast downward. 6. Club stock TJX rose about 3% this morning after the off-price retailer behind TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods reported a strong third quarter. The company posted higher sales and profits and raised its outlook. We will provide a complete club analysis for the quarter following management’s post-earnings conference call later today. 7. Target lowered the high end of its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast after sales declined year-over-year and were below expectations. On paper, the stock price was down more than 3%. The stock is trading at a forward P/E ratio of 11.5 times. Is it a good price? Walmart’s stock price will be reported tomorrow morning at a multiple of 35 times. 8. Constellation Energy received a $1 billion government loan to support its plan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor. The stock price rose 2.5% this morning. While virtually meaningless given restart costs, the loan rekindled a “magical year of investment” and is driving nuclear facilities across the board, especially Oklo, whose stock price has risen more than 7%. I say buy the club name “Solstice” which was separated from Honeywell last month. It’s the only real one. 9. Jefferies upgraded DoorDash from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised the company’s price target from $220 to $260. Analysts say the food delivery platform’s “strong execution and growth algorithms now appear to be undervalued,” considering the stock is down more than 26% since the beginning of the year. The stock rose more than 2% this morning. 10. Wells Fargo raised its price target on Medtronic from $100 to $114 after the medical device maker released quarterly results yesterday morning. Medtronic outperformed in terms of profits and sales. Organic growth of 5.5% also exceeded expectations. That might be the key indicator here. The stock ended yesterday up more than 4.5% and remained strong this morning. Sign up for free for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Markets email newsletter (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you’ll 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.
