CNBC’s Jim Cramer earlier this month bashed the latest crop of companies going public through shell companies known as SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies.
Weeks after warning viewers away from celebrity-backed SPACs he deemed to be risky gimmicks, the “Mad Money” host on Wednesday laid out a list of 10 plays he thinks are worth buying on a dip.
The suggestions come after shares of Churchill Capital IV Corp, a shell company that announced a reverse merger with electric-car maker Lucid Motors, plummeted 50% in two sessions to $28.70. It was not alone, as many other speculative SPACs, such as Star Peak Energy Transition, also tanked.
“When the SPAC stocks get hammered as a group, Wall Street tends to throw the baby out with the bathwater, like we saw earlier this week,” Cramer said. “The next time these higher quality SPACs get hit … you need to be ready to buy.”
SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, became one of the hottest go-public trends on Wall Street during volatile trading last year as many companies pulled or delayed their initial public offerings. An alternative to an IPO, a SPAC is a public entity created with the sole purpose of raising money on the market, typically starting at $10 per share, in hopes of buying a private company in the future.
In 2020, 200 SPACs raised about $64 billion. More than 190 traditional IPO deals generated $67 billion, the highest figure since 2014, according to Renaissance Capital.
Alongside growth and tech stocks, SPACs fell out of favor on the market starting last week. Investors were adjusting their portfolios to buy reopening and value plays as inflation fears triggered a sell-off in recent trading days.
Cramer said he expects more pain to be in store for SPACs.
“I’m not telling you to pull the trigger right now, I’m saying you should watch them on the way down because they do break” to lower levels, he said.
All but one stock on Cramer’s SPAC shopping list declined this week, including double-digit falls in Social Capital Hedosophia and Star Peak Energy Transition. Below are his takeaways on each play:
MP Materials: “It is high quality. It’s got very good management. … I want you ready for the next pullback.”
Star Peak Energy Transition Corp: “I think you’re going to get an even better buying opportunity once the [deal to buy Stem] closes, but if you can get this one for less than $30, I’d pounce.”
Porch Group: “I actually think you can start buying Porch right here and maybe wait for a dip to buy some more.”
Utz Brands: “You’re not getting much of an entry point, but if it pulls back to closer to $20, you need to be ready to pull the trigger on Utz.”
DraftKings: “I have a programming deal with DraftKings … so you can take what I say with a [grain of salt], but this is a real company that’s generating real revenue and it is growing like a weed. … That said, if you like this one, it’s up on a spike, but it could come down.”
Social Capital Hedosophia: “You can buy it right here, [but] leave room [to buy more on] the way down. We’re in an erratic market.”
Vertiv: “You can put on a small position here, then you hope it comes down” to buy more.
Open Lending: “The stock is not cheap, but if Open Lending hits the numbers well this thing’s going to look like a steal” at current levels.
Skillz: “I think Skillz has a great story … If it falls below $30, pull the trigger.”
AppHarvest: “AppHarvest is far from cheap. The stock’s down 22% from its highs, looking more enticing currently at $33. If it falls to the high $20s, nibble.”
