Every weekday, Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club releases the Homestretch, a practical afternoon update to coincide with the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets: Wall Street soared on Wednesday thanks to the second encouraging inflation report of the week and a series of strong bank profits. The consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, was slightly lower than expected before the opening bell on Wednesday, a day after wholesale inflation delivered a similar result. Wednesday’s CPI announcement increased the odds that the Fed will cut interest rates twice this year, according to the CME FedWatch tool. A strong December jobs report released on Friday caused investors to reconsider future rate cuts. Financials was one of four of the 11 S&P 500 sectors to rise more than 2% on Wednesday. Others are communications services, consumer goods, and technology. Financial results were the driving force behind the financial movement. The club’s name, BlackRock, surged about 5% after recent sellers got off the train too early. Wall Street wisely focused on the big picture with portfolio stock Wells Fargo, sending the company’s stock up 7%. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs confirmed that the firm recently exited Morgan Stanley as management expressed positivity about trading activity in 2025. Bristol’s Vision: The biggest market for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s new schizophrenia drug may actually be patients with Alzheimer’s disease. That’s according to company leaders who spoke with CNBC colleague Annika Kim Constantino at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, and below are excerpts from her talk. Company executives said in interviews that each of the treatments being studied for Cobenfi, including Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, Alzheimer’s disease excitatory dementia, bipolar disorder and autism, has multibillion-dollar potential. He said there is. But Bristol-Myers Squibb Chief Financial Officer David Elkins told CNBC that Alzheimer’s disease is “a really big market here.” …There are nearly 6 million people in the United States with Alzheimer’s disease, and about half of them have psychosis or symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, Elkins said. Cobenfi could be the first drug specifically approved for Alzheimer’s disease-related psychosis, said Adam Lenkowski, chief commercialization officer. Cobenfi’s long-term potential is at the heart of our investment thesis at Bristol-Myers, and its opportunities beyond schizophrenia make us optimistic. Jim Cramer said Cobenfi’s annual sales could someday reach $10 billion, considering all possible uses. We will keep an eye on the results of Bristol-Myers’ late-stage trial in Alzheimer’s disease-related psychosis, which are expected to be published later this year. Bristol-Myers stock rose slightly on Wednesday. Portfolio member Eli Lilly is also entering the Alzheimer’s disease treatment market, but in a different way. Lilly’s Kisunra, approved by U.S. regulators last year, aims to slow the actual progression of the memory-robbing disease by removing abnormal protein clumps in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. This drug is lagging commercially. Biotech Exports: Club names GE Healthcare and Danaher returned to early gains Wednesday on news of new Commerce Department restrictions on exporting biotech equipment to China. Citing national security concerns, the agency said biotech tools could be used for “human performance enhancement, brain-machine interfaces, biologically derived synthetic materials, and possibly biological weapons.” . Leerink research analysts said Wednesday that the rules “appear narrow.” That could limit the impact on Danaher. Additionally, Danaher can offer nearly its entire portfolio locally in China, which should help the company navigate administration. I don’t believe GE Healthcare sells any products related to this ruling, but its stock still fell in line. We also have a strong manufacturing presence in China. The new biotech export rules are part of the Biden administration’s broader strategy to limit the flow of cutting-edge U.S. technology to China. The White House is concerned that access to such technology could be used by the Chinese government to enhance its military capabilities. The Commerce Department also proposed new restrictions on exports of AI chips on Monday, dealing a blow to portfolio stock Nvidia in consecutive trading sessions. However, Nvidia stock rose 3% on Wednesday, ending a five-session losing streak. China Update: GEHC stock opened higher on Wednesday, the morning after what could be described as a sigh of relief for management at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference before the export ruling surfaced. The main takeaway is that China is doing a little better than expected and there are signs of increased activity. There may be signs of green shoots, but visibility remains low, so management reiterated caution and tempered expectations. Geoff Marks, director of portfolio analysis at Investing Club, said Wednesday that business in the world’s second-largest economy is worsening as the company waits for a promised stimulus package from the Chinese government. He said he was glad there was no such thing. Banking earnings from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley continued Thursday morning following strong quarterly results from three of our portfolio financial companies. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s earnings before the bell will focus on the performance of Nvidia and Broadcom. In addition to the earnings, the government’s retail sales figures for December will also be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Although not adjusted for inflation, the slowing consumer inflation trend detailed Wednesday morning will give an idea of ​​how shoppers felt in the final month of the holiday shopping season. (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
Every weekday, Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club releases the Homestretch, a practical afternoon update to coincide with the last hour of trading on Wall Street.
