Jim Cramer ran through his usual Thursday night stock picks on CNBC's Mad Money Lightning Round, and his most notable call came when a viewer asked about MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR). His response was blunt: skip the middleman.
"I don't want any derivative of Bitcoin, I just want Bitcoin (BTC)," Cramer said. It's a straightforward philosophy that cuts to the heart of the MicroStrategy investment thesis. Why own a company that owns Bitcoin when you can just own Bitcoin itself?
The timing is interesting given that Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani recently trimmed his price target on MicroStrategy from $600 to $450 on Dec. 8, though he maintained an Outperform rating. The stock closed Thursday down 0.7% at $183.30.
Banking on Scotia
Cramer had kinder words for The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), calling it a "very good" company. The Canadian bank has some recent momentum behind it after posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Dec. 2. Shares gained 0.4% Thursday to close at $72.92.
Space Stocks Come With Warning Labels
When asked about AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS), Cramer didn't exactly slam the door shut, but he made sure viewers understood what they'd be getting into. "The space stocks are plain and simple specs," he explained. "I'm not against it, but you have to understand that if it goes down, it's speculative. You could lose a lot of money."
AST SpaceMobile has been busy expanding lately, announcing on Nov. 25 the addition of two new manufacturing sites in Texas and Florida. Investors seemed to like something about the company, pushing shares up 7.2% Thursday to settle at $84.75.
Mixed Signals on Healthcare and Energy
DexCom, Inc. (DXCM) didn't make Cramer's approved list. He simply said he doesn't want to own it, even as Citigroup analyst Joanne Wuensch maintained a Buy rating on Thursday and raised her price target from $75 to $77. DexCom shares still gained 2% to close at $68.94.
The Mad Money host showed more enthusiasm for NRG Energy (NRG), recommending it as a buy. "I like the nuclear component there, I think it's a very well-run company," he said. UBS analyst William Appicelli backed up that sentiment on Dec. 9, initiating coverage with a Buy rating and a $211 price target. Shares rose 1.5% Thursday to settle at $170.64.
E-Commerce Winner
Cramer reserved some of his strongest praise for MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI), the Latin American e-commerce giant. He called it a buy and "such a good company." BTIG analyst Marvin Fong agrees, reiterating a Buy rating on Dec. 4 with a $2,750 price target. MercadoLibre shares climbed 2.5% Thursday to close at $2,019.81.
