Nike gets named a top pick at Jefferies — plus, what’s next for Starbucks stock
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Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets: The S & P 500 was up Monday to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week. The market was buoyed by strength in AI names like Club holding Nvidia . The stock advanced after Reuters reported that the company is looking to start shipping its H200 chips in China by mid-February. Fellow chipmaker Broadcom edged higher, too. This follows a winning week for Wall Street as the S & P 500 ended three out of the past four weeks in positive territory. Wall Street praise: Jefferies named Club holding Nike a top sector pick for 2026 on Monday. Analysts are confident in management’s turnaround strategy, and say that sales have appeared to have bottomed. Jefferies also praised Nike because of its strong brand that appeals to a wide-ranging customer base. According to Jefferies, next year’s sector “winners will be those with robust inventory management and flexible supply chains,” which supports margin recovery and reduces the risk of heavy discounts. Nike fits the bill because the sports apparel giant has been working to get rid of excess inventory and fix its tariff problems. The positive Wall Street call follows Nike’s earnings beat last week, which was overshadowed by weakening China sales and disappointing guidance. Club take: Like Jefferies, Jim Cramer is bullish on Nike’s turnaround, too. In fact, he told investors Friday to buy the stock during a post-earnings sell-off that sent shares down 10.5% in a session. The stock dropped another 2.5% on Monday. Nike’s China market is a big problem right now, but we do like where the company’s underlying trends are headed. Case in point: North America is on track for more sustainable profit growth. “I urge you to hold onto it and buy some because I think not only will they make China work, I think they’ll make China work this year,” Jim said Monday. The Club maintains a buy-equivalent 1 rating on Nike and a $75 price target, which we lowered from $80 last week due to China weakness. Starbucks: Morgan Stanley said January will be a pivotal month for Starbucks , as the Club name reports fiscal 2026 first-quarter earnings on Jan. 28 and holds an investor day on Jan. 29. Morgan Stanley said the events should offer fresh insight into management’s long-term growth projections, potentially including broad guidance through fiscal 2028. In fact, blockysts see a possible fiscal 2028 earnings per share range of $3.50 to $4, compared to the Street’s estimates of $3.51. Near-term headwinds such as higher labor and cost-of-goods pressures, however, caused blockysts to lower estimates for the current quarter. Morgan Stanley trimmed its fiscal first-quarter EPS estimate to 56 from 63 cents and cut its fiscal 2026 forecast to $2.24 from $2.52. Club take: We think — as Morgan Stanley blockysts do, too — that the core driver for Starbucks in 2026 is better U.S. sales trends, which turned positive in September and continued into October. The momentum suggests early traction from Starbucks’ Green Apron service model , a strategy aimed at streamlining operations and improving the speed of service in stores. We continue to believe in the overhaul at Starbucks, led by proven turnaround artist and CEO Brian Niccol. While costs remain a near-term headwind, improving U.S. sales trends and operational discipline give us confidence that Niccol can reaccelerate the business and restore investor trust over time. Up next: There aren’t any notable earnings reports after the bell. Tuesday morning, we’ll get a slew of economic data. GDP for the third quarter and durable goods orders for October are both out at 8:30 a.m. ET. December’s consumer confidence reading is set for release at 10 a.m. ET. (See here for a full list of the stocks in 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.
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