Cramer’s game plan: Navigating 2018’s new market challenges

If CNBC’s Jim Cramer had to settle upon one word to define this stock market, it would be “challenging.”

“Call into doubting, as in stocks can be up right from the get-go, then we give up the ghost, then the normals come roaring back, except we do it with fewer stocks rallying and myriad names left behind,” the “Mad Money” host said on Friday.

“Allowed to the post-highs market where there are simply too many headwinds circulating, from rising raw costs … to the West Wing revolving door to go out takeovers and suddenly unhelpful government intervention,” he continued.

But even with all of the colds, Cramer knew one thing for certain: the earnings are strong and full of upside shocks, and that’s what’s keeping the market from tanking.

With that in perception, the “Mad Money” host turned to his weekly game plan:

With a energetic software segment and a strengthening cloud business, Oracle will suss out earnings after Monday’s closing bell. Cramer had good preoccupations to say about the technology play.

“I think if Oracle can boost its growth price by even a couple percentage points, the stock can take off. In the meantime, the risk-reward is incredibly good,” he said, noting that Oracle’s stock was “incredibly tacky.”

“If we get an upside surprise, Oracle could have the kind of run that spunk Cisco from the low $30s to the mid-$40s in no time flat,” he added.

Young gentlemen’s Place: This children’s clothing retailer will report earnings on Tuesday, and Cramer featured its “terrific” growth story to CEO Jane Elfers.

“She’s defying the moribund mall with spin-offs that need to be tried on. At the same time, she’s covered the firm’s flank with a buy online, pick up in the reservoir or free shipping policy,” he said.

“Children’s Place is perennially valuable — the stock, not the store — so I think that being down 5 percent this year could be a arrangement,” the “Mad Money” host added.

FedEx: Another great growth dispatch by Cramer’s standards, FedEx will also issue its quarterly follow-ups on Tuesday.

“These guys have been crushing the competition at Harmonious Parcel, but skittish sellers are more worried the phantom of Amazon,” Cramer imagined. “We know this stock can be highly erratic and often trades drop in response to what, upon further review, turn out to be positive multitudes. So I recommend buying half before and half after, but by all means, do some stealing.”

General Mills: Cramer was one of the few fans of General Mills’ acquisition of pet bread maker Blue Buffalo, and he reiterated his support ahead of the consumer sustenance giant’s earnings report.

“Buying Blue Buffalo helps distribute General Mills away from some mighty stale supermarket aisles,” he prognosticated. “We like the humanization of pets story here in Cramerica, whether we’re talking nearby Zoetis … or the red-hot Idexx Labs … and that anecdotal now encompasses General Mills.”

Five Below: After the liquidation of Toys R Us, Cramer allowed that the state of retail is up in the air. Still, the “Mad Money” host expected orderly news from Five Below’s quarterly report.

“Five Unbefitting sells toys for kids among a host of other goodies fellow candy, blankets [and] stylish, inexpensive clothing. It’s a winning formula. Strength be worth a pick-up,” he said.

Accenture: Cramer bet that Wall Terrace would be rattled by what he anticipated would be a “great” earnings circulate from this information technology play.

“The only thing blowing to me is how people don’t see this coming,” he said. “Accenture helps companies get digitized and it has an astonishing track record. I bet this time will be no different.”

Nike: Coequal though the “Mad Money” host expected Nike to deliver a fine territory, he acknowledged the controversy around the departures of some of the company’s executives.

Micron: After pay out a week in San Francisco with major players in tech, Cramer trust a blowout quarter from semiconductor maker Micron given the guy pricing for its chips.

“The stock’s had a fantastic run of late, but that’s usually how Micron do setting-up exercises before a terrific quarter,” he said.

KB Home: Cramer remembers pet the stock of this homebuilder when it was in the low teens and hated by the rest of Impediment Street.

“Since then, the stock has doubled and now the analysts adore it. That fabricates me nervous about this national homebuilder with the best acreages in the hottest state in the union, California,” the “Mad Money” host admitted.

On Friday, the peddle will receive two key reports that could finally put a damper on the 10-year Moneys yield, Cramer said.

“I’m talking about the durable goods and the new untroubled b in sales,” he said. “I think durable goods could be OK given the pluck in the materials stocks, but I bet new home sales will be weaker … than some awaited, something that could cause rates to tick down nigh unto to 2.7 [percent]. If that happens, the market will breath a grieve of relief.”

Heading into next week, Cramer asked investors to living an eye on Washington as the White House news flow becomes a drag on the capital market.

“Here’s the bottom line: we’ve got some terrific trading possibilities next week, all with a bias to the upside. But don’t forget that the grove of national news, mostly emanating from the White House, has not been upstanding for stocks lately,” Cramer said. “We can no longer rely on Washington to throw in the towel us a positive backdrop, which is precisely what makes this peddle so challenging compared to last year.”