Mad Money

Cramer Remix: What’s really behind the rally in oil stocks

Key Points
  • "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer drills into the rally in oil stocks and gives his thoughts on potential M&A.
  • Cramer also reviews the bull and bear cases for one highly contested medical device stock.
  • In the lightning round, Cramer shares why he's staying away from Valeant Pharmaceuticals ... for now.
Cramer Remix: What’s really behind the rally in oil stocks
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Cramer Remix: What’s really behind the rally in oil stocks

Sometimes, there are days like Monday, when CNBC's Jim Cramer sees the stock market's "rocket ships" fly too close to the sun.

"We actually had two rocket ships at work today: FANG and 'Rocket Man' himself, Kim Jong Un, a nuclear menace who's now become the short-sellers' best friend, this time with his pronouncement that our flyovers of North Korea amount to a declaration of war," the "Mad Money" host said.

While FANG, Cramer's acronym for the stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet, may have fallen out of favor with investors for climbing too much of late, some more uncommon stocks started to rally ahead of North Korea's latest statements.

For example, oil stocks surged as the commodity topped $52 a barrel, even though the low $50s are usually where crude prices hit a ceiling before falling again.

"We know the oils are rallying, but there's more to this move than just the strength in crude," Cramer said. "We've heard rumblings of mergers in the drilling business. After so many years in the price-cutting wilderness, it's about time these companies thought about combining forces."

Washington's Do-Nothings

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (L) sits beside U.S. President Donald Trump during a leadership lunch at the White House in Washington.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

As the Senate tries yet again to repeal and replace Obamacare and President Donald Trump tweet-blasts the National Football League, Cramer wonders who wants tax reform less.

"The White House seems like it still hasn't figured out what rates it wants, let alone what could possibly pass. They might as well be working from two different countries to solve the tax issue, and it's incredibly clear that Congress can't possibly tackle two things at once," Cramer said Monday. "Getting tax reform done in September turns out to be a pipe dream."

Cramer said it would be "fanciful" to think that the so-called Big Six — House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn — could agree on much in the way of taxes.

Even as Republicans reportedly plan to release a tax reform framework this week, still unresolved between the six leaders of the GOP-led tax overhaul are matters of expensing, effective tax rates for the country's richest households and how to fund the cuts.

Stockpile CEO on Engaging New Investors

Avi Lele, CEO of Stockpile.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Recent statistics show the number of Americans invested in stocks declining, but Stockpile co-founder and CEO Avi Lele told CNBC his fractional share trading platform can help change that.

"[In] the last eight years, the tide has been rising. [The] stock market has been doing well, but most of us don't feel rich, right? Because our ships have been in dry dock. They haven't been in the water," Lele told Cramer in an exclusive interview on Monday. "And here, to get into the market, I think the easiest point of access is to invest in something you know, something that you love."

Lele's privately held company is a clinic in making investing more accessible: It makes gift cards, sold online and at various physical locations, that function as fractional shares of stocks.

Bulls vs. Bears: BioTelemetry

Finally, Cramer examined the bull and bear cases for the stock of BioTelemetry, a small-capitalization medical device company known for its heart monitors.

The company made a turnaround in early 2016, delivering consistently strong earnings results and making a series of acquisitions. But the bears struck this month with a scathing report from Off Wall Street, giving BioTelemetry's stock a $21 price target and a sell rating.

"The bearish argument boils down to a pretty basic thesis: They believe the company's cardiac monitoring services division, which made up 80 percent of the business last year, is losing market share. It's just that these declines are being obscured by the company's many recent acquisitions," Cramer said.

But more bullish voices from Lake Street and Dougherty & Co. chimed in, attributing the company's slowing revenue growth to Medicare cuts that will soon be reversed.

Dougherty analysts said they expected BioTelemetry's volumes to grow by the high single-digits for the next few years, recommending the stock and giving it a $40 price target.

"I've got to side with the analysts who've been covering the name for years rather than the naysayers at Off Wall Street," Cramer said. "BioTelemetry had run a great deal, but thanks to the sell-off, I think you can get into the stock at a discounted price. I think it's worth buying, cautiously, of course, because it's for speculation only. It's a small-cap stock, even as the newfound negativity has created what may be an excellent buying opportunity."

In an emailed response to CNBC's request for comment, BioTelemetry President and CEO Joseph Capper outlined his bull case, saying his company's tech-enabled devices are in high demand because they can help cut health costs.

"BioTelemetry's cardiac monitoring sales have been driven by a high performance sales organization that is second to none in the market. We have the most advanced technology, providing the highest diagnostic yield with the quickest turnaround time. We have the most robust I.P. portfolio and more published clinical proof studies than any other company in the market," Capper wrote, using shorthand to refer to BioTelemetry's intellectual property.

Capper added that BioTelemetry is uniquely positioned to benefit from the popularity surge in wearable devices and their connection to health care.

"That being the case, we were quite surprised to see the Off Wall Street piece. This came out of left field and was built around a flawed thesis and inaccurate statements. In short, we think "Off Wall Street" is "off the mark" on this one," the CEO wrote. "Look for BioTelemetry to continue to outpace the market, commercializing the most innovative connected health solutions both in and outside of the cardiac monitoring space. The BEAT goes on!"

Lightning Round: Veering Away from VRX

In Cramer's lightning round, he rattled off his take on some callers' favorite stocks:

Valeant Pharmaceuticals: "We're going to just say, 'Don't buy.' We like everything that [CEO] Joe Papa's doing. He's cleaned up the balance sheet. I think the thing could be OK. But I've still got so many drug companies that are down on their luck right now, I can't go for that one."

CenturyLink: "I've got to throw the flag on that one. Why? Because I do believe that, in the end, that huge yield of 11 percent is a red flag and it worries me."

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Facebook and Alphabet.

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