Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market on Thursday
My top 10 things to watch for Thursday, July 9 1. Let’s look at a little more open for the S & P 500. Nasdaq futures are very strong in the green, led by none other than chip stocks. The Nasdaq held a dramatic late-night rally yesterday to close, while the S&P 500 and Dow tumbled amid heightened tensions with Iran. After making 4.4% yesterday, WTI crude is up less than 1% this morning. 2. The listing of SK Hynix shares in the US has been subscribed more than seven times. The South Korean memory giant is raising $28 billion, and shares will begin trading on Nasdaq tomorrow. It will continue to trade in South Korea. I’m starting to worry about the new oversupply of both debt and equity weighing on this bull market. Not in dangerous territory yet, but if the donations keep coming, we won’t be safe from overreacting. 3. A mixed quarter from PepsiCo — a small earnings miss but a nice profit hit. The beverage business is leading in North America, with volume growth. It’s not so clear on the snack side, home to Frito Lay. Pepsi warned of higher input costs in the second half of the year. We’ll learn more from CEO Ramon Laguarta, who joins us on “Squawk on the Street” this morning. Shares closed up 2% in the market. 4. Five Below was developed for purchase at Mizuho Securities. With shares retreating nearly 30% from their April peak, analysts say the risk/reward looks very good considering the company is retaining new customers well and the sales team is firing on all cylinders. CEO Winnie Park has done an impressive job since taking over in late 2024, but the health of the low-end consumer is something to watch here. 5. Truist has upgraded Solstice Advanced Materials to a buy stop following this week’s 24% decline in its acquisition of Element Solutions. The market is clearly not a fan of the deal, which was announced on Monday morning. But I like the move of the special chemical manufacturer to strengthen the exposure of the semiconductor. CEO David Sewell told me on “Mad Money” he knows they’ll need to prove the road wrong. 6. Another improvement for Old Dominion Freight Line as the freight cycle bounces back from a multi-year slump. This time Citi will stop selling. Yesterday, Wells Fargo went shopping. Old Dominion is a rival to the FedEx Freight Club name, which has fallen back hard. I think you get a chance to buy. 7. AstraZeneca fell nearly 8% after its heart disease drug, Wainua, failed to meet targets in late-stage clinical trials. Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, which developed the combination therapy, fell about 20% in parallel. A disappointing result. Wainua was hailed as a great success. For drug manufacturers, we own Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. Both stocks are near all-time highs. 8. Mizuho downgraded Tractor Supply to hold on to purchases and lowered its price to $32 from $50. Analysts pointed to stagnant comparable sales growth and an erosion of operating margins, citing competition from the likes of Walmart and Club brand Costco. Still, Mizuho said the company’s business is “fixable” and has a strong product. Boy, everyone has cut this one over and over. Earlier this week, Evercore ISI took the stock to $40 from $45. 9. Meta Platforms was added to Bank of America’s “US 1 List”, a collection of the company’s best investment ideas among stocks rated as a buy. And this morning, Reuters reported that the parent of Facebook and Instagram plans to put AI chips into production in September as part of its effort to double computing capacity. Shares fell 3% this morning, continuing the stock’s volatility amid concerns over the use of AI. I am a fan of their cloud business startup program to sell a computer. 10. RBC Capital Markets downgraded AeroVironment to a buy rating. Analysts lowered their PT to $180 from $210 and said investors will remain on the sidelines due to the risk of overcapacity and higher hedging costs. The company posted a strong quarter late last month, sending shares soaring. It looks like there is a lot of seller interest. I still think a cheap drone would help their case. Sign up for my free Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter (See here for a full list of stocks from Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling stock in his charity portfolio. When Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing a trade warning before making a trade. THE PRIVATE INFORMATION OF THE BURNING CLUB IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, AND OUR PRIVACY POLICY. NO LEGAL LIABILITY OR OBLIGATION EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CONTACTING THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO PARTICULAR RESULT OR INTEREST IS GUARANTEED.
