Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets: Stocks are on track for a down Monday, with the S & P 500 giving back half its gains from Friday’s September jobs report rally. Our semiconductor stocks were some of the big winners Friday — and Nvidia , Advanced Micro Devices , and Broadcom are extending those gains. All three are off to a strong fourth-quarter start, a seasonally strong period for the group as we learned from Melius Research. As well-regarded analyst Ben Reitzes pointed out in a Monday note, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF , commonly referred to by its ticker SMH, has gained 9.4% on average in the fourth quarter over the past 14 years compared to a roughly 2.6% gain in the third quarter. Melius believes Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom will be the leaders of the AI semiconductor trade. If AMD is going to catch up to Nvidia and Broadcom in terms of 2024 performance, it’s going to have to win the market over at its Advancing AI event this Thursday. Downgrades: There were a bunch of analyst downgrades of stocks on Monday, including several in the portfolio. Apple , Amazon , DuPont , and Constellation Brands all saw their ratings lowered by different Wall Street analysts. Each note is having a negative impact on Monday’s session. We addressed each downgrade on the Morning Meeting. Touching on Mexican beer powerhouse Constellation Brands, we think it’s a good sign for the company’s struggling wine and spirits business that peer Duckhorn announced it will be acquired by private equity for $1.95 billion. That valuation may be a heavy discount from where Duckhorn , ticker NAPA, went public in late 2021, but it’s a big premium from where the stock traded Friday. We bring it up because if Constellation ever decides to offload its wine and spirits business — and we hope they do — then private equity is probably the most likely buyer. Hopefully, the NAPA deal sparks more interest in the space. Up next: Tuesday kicks off the beginning of the third quarter earnings season with PepsiCo reporting. The snacks and beverage company is expected to roughly report 2% year-over-year sales and earnings per share growth according to the FactSet compiled consensus. The reaction to PepsiCo’s earnings might provide a tell into how the market will react to other defensive, low-growth consumer staple companies this earnings season. Our first company up to bat is Wells Fargo on Friday. (See here for a full list of the stocks in 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 a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.
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