Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Monday
My top 10 things to watch Monday, Aug. 24 1. Stock futures are off their low of the morning after my CNBC colleague Steve Liesman reported that the Treasury Department could use its massive General Account to help fund its bond-buying plans. Yields on longer-dated Treasurys are lower this morning. But will the relief last? 2. Important week for the AI trade: Club name Nvidia reports Wednesday night. Over the weekend, Bloomberg News reported Nvidia has informed customers of impending price hikes on AI servers due to memory costs. As the press previews Nvidia’s results, expect to hear plenty about what could go wrong and is going wrong. Hard for me to be as cynical. 3. Nvidia’s earnings this week aren’t the only thing that matters to the AI trade. We also need to keep watching the growing political backlash to data centers, as the midterms approach. As I wrote in my Sunday column for Investing Club subscribers, what we’ve seen in Texas and most recently Pennsylvania is bogging down the group. 4. CrowdStrike also reports Wednesday night. After more than doubling in four months, the stock has cooled off lately, down about 15% since the Aug. 13 close. Analysts at Jefferies still cautioned that expectations are high. Still, their channel checks were “incrementally positive.” Price target moved to $230 from $190. We still own this one for the Club. Cyber defense is essential for the AI era. 5. Baird initiated coverage of a bunch of restaurant stocks, with Club name Starbucks selected as a “top pick” alongside Cava , Chili’s owner Brinker , and Dutch Bros . Analysts are confident in CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround, believing same-store sales momentum can continue and earnings can surprise to the upside. I’m betting on Niccol too. 6. Baird also started with a buy rating Yum Brands , the owner of KFC and Taco Bell. I see no reason from this recommendation to actually buy Yum, but I like new management and the disposal of Pizza Hut. They also like Texas Roadhouse , which I think can work in this environment because people know you can get a good meal at a fair price there. 7. Barclays raised its price target on Deere to $670 from $640. Kept its buy rating. After a multiyear downturn in the agriculture cycle, analysts said Deere’s comments last week made investors feel more confident about orders going into fiscal 2027. Deere is a conservative team, so saying 2026 is the bottom of the cycle matters. That’s why the stock rose 7% on Thursday and tacked on another 4% Friday. 8. Celestica was upgraded to buy from hold at UBS, citing strong demand for its ethernet switching and networking platforms. Celestica has spent years transforming from a lower-margin contract manufacturer into a faster-growing equipment designer, including for AI server racks. It’s working with Broadcom and OpenAI on the ChatGPT creator’s Jalapeno chip. 9 . Wolfe Research calls PulteGroup the best-positioned, most resilient homebuilder. Analysts upgraded the stock to a buy from hold and set a $158 price target. Resilience is needed in this tough housing market. 10. Bank of America raised its Williams-Sonoma price target to $261 from $250. Analysts see potential upside to the retailer’s comp guidance due to industry spending trends. They kept their buy. I have respect for what CEO Laura Alber has built there. Earnings are out Wednesday morning. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at 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.
