Mad Money

Analysts are missing the mark on shares of Apple and FANG, Cramer says

Key Points
  • Jim Cramer reviews the negative coverage of Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet's stocks.
  • The "Mad Money" host offers his counterarguments for why the companies may not be performing as poorly as Wall Street seems to think.
Analysts missing mark on shares of Apple and FANG: Cramer
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Analysts missing mark on shares of Apple and FANG: Cramer

CNBC's Jim Cramer is tired of seeing negative Wall Street coverage suffocate the stocks of Apple and FANG, his acronym for Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, now Alphabet.

"Perhaps the most maligned" of them all is Apple, shares of which fell below their 200-day moving average on Tuesday as they dragged on the broader market, Cramer said on "Mad Money."

"The stock has been getting shelled lately, down $41 from its highs, and it shows no sign of stabilizing," he said. "I can see how [buying] Apple here might feel like jumping in front of a speeding freight train."

But analysts, who have been peppering the iPhone maker's stock with downgrades, may be overlooking the possibility that Apple anticipated some sales weakness when it reported earnings on Nov. 1, he said.

"What do you think of the possibility that Apple knew all about the weaknesses in unit sales that are now so revelatory?" he asked, pointing to reports that Apple may have tapered its orders from a key supplier. "CFO Luca Maestri even alluded to that weakness when he told us the guidance accounts for 'uncertainty around the supply and demand balance' of recently launched products."

Still, Wall Street's "bearish freight train has run over a lot of good news," like Apple expanding a landmark deal to sell its new iPhones and iPads on Amazon, something that should have been received positively by analysts, Cramer said.

"Instead, big shareholders are still trying to fathom why the company stopped giving us iPhone metrics," he lamented.

But Cramer figured that once the estimate cuts end and Wall Street realizes that Apple's service revenue stream and iPhone sales are very much intact, Apple's stock would "come roaring back like it's done every time before."

"I still say own Apple, don't trade it, because it's too hard to time the bottom," he advised. "In other words, if you sell it, you might not be able to get back in at a lower level."

The "Mad Money" host had similar predictions for the FANG stocks. Even with all its data-privacy scandals, Facebook's advertising power and Instagram business are keeping the company afloat heading into 2019, he said.

"Facebook is one grown-up appointment away from having a stock that can go higher. Just one. They simply need to hire an outside adult at the C-suite level ... who won't tolerate any nonsense, and you know what'll happen? The stock will soar," he said. "You don't have to like this company to realize that it remains the best way to reach younger consumers."

Amazon is "on the verge of having the biggest holiday season ever," he added. Netflix, which Cramer admitted has an expensive stock, still has the power to raise prices, create tiers of content and land high-profile deals, he said. Alphabet is the current leader in the self-driving car space with its Waymo division and has over $100 billion in cash.

"The bottom line? Do not be so quick to write off Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet [and] Apple," Cramer said. "The Fab Five may be out of favor right now ... but there's a lot they could do to make a comeback. I know to bet against them right here, after this decline, ... seems maybe ill-advised. In fact, it might be right to actually start — yes, I'm going to whisper — buying them."

WATCH: Cramer's case for FAANG

Analysts are missing the mark on shares of Apple and FANG, Cramer says
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Analysts are missing the mark on shares of Apple and FANG, Cramer says

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet.

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