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Jim Cramer has probably received more acclaim for helping individual investors than anyone. His show Mad Money is very popular and he gets praise for his Lightning Round segment. On that segment, callers ask him about a stock and gives a very quick answer as to his thoughts. I am not interested in criticizing Mr. Cramer for his quick appraisal as I think that this type of analysis is always a challenge. I am consistently amazed at his ability to give good advice on the fly.

I thought it would be interesting to compare my thoughts to Mr. Cramer’s Lightning Round. I am not going to do the full analysis like my traditional stock review posts but rather just say if I agree or disagree with him. Here are last weeks picks and my thoughts. If this article is well received, I may continue this as a regular feature.

The Lightning Round picks came from the Mad Money page on The Street.

Company

Date

Segment

Jim Cramer’s Call

Confident Investor Call
American Capital Agency (AGNC) 11/08

Not good enough
Align Technology (ALGN) 11/05

Not good enough
Yamana Gold (AUY) 11/05

Worth considering
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) 11/09

Not good enough
Boardwalk Partners (BWP) 11/07

Not good enough
Caterpillar (CAT) 11/09

Already on Watch List
Chevron (CVX) 11/09

Worth considering
Changyou.com (CYOU) 11/08

Not good enough
CYS Investments (CYS) 11/08

Not good enough
Caesars Entertainment (CZR) 11/09

No- not profitable
Facebook (FB) 11/09

Not good enough
Frontier Communications (FTR) 11/07

Worth considering
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) 11/05

I don’t analyze SPDR
Generac Holdings (GNRC) 11/08

Not good enough
Google (GOOG) 11/09

Already on Watch List
Harley Davidson (HOG) 11/09

Worth considering
Intel (INTC) 11/05

Worth considering
JC Penney (JCP) 11/07

No – not profitable
Nordstrom (JWN) 11/09

Worth considering
McDonald’s (MCD) 11/05

Not good enough
MGM Resorts (MGM) 11/05

No – not profitable
Microsoft (MSFT) 11/09

Not good enough
Matrix Service (MTRX) 11/05

Worth considering
Protein Design Labs (PDLI) 11/05

Worth considering
PPL Corp (PPL) 11/08

Worth considering
Sears Holdings (SHLD) 11/07

Not good enough
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) 11/08

Not good enough
VIVUS (VVUS) 11/07

No – not profitable
Walgreens (WAG) 11/05

Not good enough
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) 11/09

Worth considering
Yahoo! (YHOO) 11/09

Not good enough

 

As you can easily see, I am a bit more conservative on my choices than Mr. Cramer.  I really want a company to be growing well and be profitable in order for them to be on my list.

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WHEREAS it has long been our custom to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and

WHEREAS in the intervening years the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and

WHEREAS the Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926 . . . calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies, and later provided in an act approved May 13, 1938 . . . that the eleventh of November should be a legal holiday and should be known as Armistice Day; and

WHEREAS, in order to expand the significance of that commemoration and in order that a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of the Nation, the Congress, by an act approved June 1, 1954 . . . changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954, as Veterans Day. On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain. I also direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag of the United States on all public buildings on Veterans Day.

In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.

Words by President Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Company name Life Partners Holdings, Inc.
Stock ticker LPHI
Live stock price [stckqut]LPHI[/stckqut]
Confident Investor Rating Poor

The following company description is from Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?q=lphi

Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (Life Partners) is a specialty financial services company and the parent company of Life Partners, Inc. (LPI). LPI is engaged in the secondary market for life insurance known as life settlements. LPI facilitates the sale of life settlements between sellers and purchasers, but does not take possession or control of the policies. The purchasers acquire the life insurance policies at a discount to their face value for investment purposes. The Company’s operating revenues are derived from fees for facilitating life settlement transactions. Life settlement transactions involve the sale of an existing life insurance policy to another party. By selling the policy, the policyholder receives an immediate cash payment. The purchaser takes an ownership interest in the policy at a discount to its face value and receives the death benefit under the policy when the insured dies.
Confident Investor comments: At this price and at this time, I do not think that a Confident Investor can confidently invest in this stock. It is not possible to confidently invest in a company that is not currently profitable. I am removing this company from my Watch List.

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Company name JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Stock ticker JPM
Live stock price [stckqut]JPM[/stckqut]
P/E compared to competitors Good

MANAGEMENT EXECUTION

Employee productivity Good
Sales growth Poor
EPS growth Good
P/E growth Poor
EBIT growth Good

ANALYSIS

Confident Investor Rating Fair
Target stock price (TWCA growth scenario) $123.41
Target stock price (averages with growth) $140.35
Target stock price (averages with no growth) $94.01
Target stock price (manual assumptions) $65.49

The following company description is from Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?q=jpm

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan Chase) is a financial holding company. The Company is a global financial services firm and a banking institution in the United States, with global operations. The Company is engaged in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. JPMorgan Chase’s principal bank subsidiaries are JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.), a national bank with the United States branches in 23 states, and Chase Bank USA, National Association (Chase Bank USA, N.A.), a national bank that is the Company’s credit card-issuing bank. JPMorgan Chase’s non-bank subsidiary is J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMorgan Securities), the Company’s the United States investment banking firm. In June 2012, the Company’s asset management business created a new unit.

 

Confident Investor comments: At this time, I think that a Confident Investor can cautiously invest in this stock as long as the price is correct. Most of the fundamentals of this company are good but there are some concerns. I am going to leave the stock on my Watch List since the biggest reason the stock has dropped to Fair is the slower growth of sales in the last several years. If sales increases with a healthier economy then it is likely that JPM will be even stronger.

 

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Company name Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
Stock ticker ISRG
Live stock price [stckqut]ISRG[/stckqut]
P/E compared to competitors Fair

MANAGEMENT EXECUTION

Employee productivity Good
Sales growth Good
EPS growth Good
P/E growth Poor
EBIT growth Good

ANALYSIS

Confident Investor Rating Good
Target stock price (TWCA growth scenario) $840.33
Target stock price (averages with growth) $1136.3
Target stock price (averages with no growth) $786.71
Target stock price (manual assumptions) $801.77

The following company description is from Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?q=isrg
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Intuitive) designs, manufactures and markets da Vinci Surgical Systems and related instruments and accessories. A da Vinci Surgical System consists of a surgeon’s console, a patient-side cart and a vision system. The da Vinci Surgical System translates a surgeon’s natural hand movements, which are performed on instrument controls at a console, into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small incisions, or ports. The da Vinci Surgical System is designed to provide its operating surgeon with intuitive control, range of motion, fine tissue manipulation capability and three dimensional (3-D), high-definition (HD) vision while simultaneously allowing them to work through the small ports of minimally invasive surgery (MIS). On January 11, 2012, the Company acquired its Korean distributor.

 

Confident Investor comments: At this price and at this time, I think that a Confident Investor can confidently invest in this stock.