Cramer's Mad Money - Return of the Cola Wars (4/21/09)

Stocks discussed on the in-depth session of Jim Cramer's Mad Money TV Program, Tuesday April 21.

Return of the Cola Wars: Coke (KO), Pepsi (PEP)

A few weeks ago, Cramer declared Pepsi the winner of the cola wars because of its wider margins, collection of new products, $1.3 billion productivity program and solid 3.3% dividend. However, Rick Bensignor, a technical analyst, says Coke is a buy in the low $40s because its performance so far in 2009 matches that of its historic bottoms and there might be a significant upside. However, Cramer still sides with Pepsi based on its fundamentals, the fact it is buying it bottlers and is getting closer to retailers and the fact it will not suffer as much from the strong dollar as Coke, which has more international exposure.

Google (GOOG), Apple (APPL), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Coach (COH), Caterpillar (CAT)

Cramer often says no one make penny by panicking. This advice would have been worth keeping in mind as many investors missed Tuesday's rally after Monday's Dow drop. The day started with the "perfect bull market down opening" and rebounded steadily. Cramer thinks Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase still have some upside. Recovery in China was good news for Caterpillar and Cramer thinks even high-end retail name Coach is worth a look. He urged investors to keep their cool after the next dip; " those who sold yesterday want to shoot themselves today."

Halliburton (HAL)

While Goldman Sachs put Halliburton on its conviction buy list, JP Morgan downgraded the stock from buy to neutral. The Goldman analyst thinks Halliburton will spark an early-cycle recovery in North American drilling, but the JP Morgan analyst expects a 3-5% decline in the company's earnings, delayed orders and a bottom that won't be fully felt until 2011. Cramer likes Halliburton but concedes he has to agree with the JP Morgan analyst; "You can't bet on a turn when the fundamentals are still deteriorating." He recommends taking profits, especially since the stock has already run.

CEO Interview: Kevin Burke, Con Edison (ED)

Cramer has been a critic of Obama's cap and trade emissions plan because he thinks an economic recovery is in order first. The taxes will be passed along to the consumers in the form of higher utility bills, and that is the last thing the average American needs right now. However, Con Edison CEO Kevin Burke is not only not worried about the proposed legislation but supports it. The company already has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in the past five years and doesn't use coal. Con Edison has seen only a 2% decline since the beginning of the year and offers a generous 6.6% dividend. Cramer says Con Edison is more advanced than the competition.

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