"When you get a situation like Monster where a stock keeps getting mauled by the bears, but a couple of heroic analysts remain bullish, that's not a fight you want to be involved in," CNBC's Jim Cramer says.
"If the bulls at Credit Suisse turn out to be correct, well they'll look like geniuses. But there are very real worries here, which is why I am hesitant to stick my neck out on this one," the "Mad Money" host says.
"I cannot stress this enough: we're at the start of an IPO season that looks on track to bring a trillion dollars' worth of companies public," he says.
CNBC's Jim Cramer reminded investors not to step into a battleground stock, a situation where passionate bears are in a standoff with passionate bulls and there's no where to go.
"When you get a situation like Monster where a stock keeps getting mauled by the bears, but a couple of heroic analysts remain bullish, that's not a fight you want to be involved in," the "Mad Money" host said. "Believe me, there are lots of easier ways to make money."
Shares of Monster Beverage MNST have run more than 10 percent this year. That trails the S&P 500's 13-plus percent gain, and the stock is nearly 5 percent under its price a year ago.
Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley on Thursday offered dueling perspectives on the energy drink maker with the former putting faith in the company and the latter cutting numbers, Cramer noted.
"If the bulls at Credit Suisse turn out to be correct, well they'll look like geniuses," he said. "But there are very real worries here, which is why I am hesitant to stick my neck out on this one, especially with Monster selling at 24-times next year's earnings estimates, much higher than the average stock. Not exactly a value play."
Cramer's full insight here
Stock prep
Lyft's LYFT $87 opening price is a "win for the system," even though it may have been a loss for investors that were overeager, Cramer
"I cannot stress this enough: we're at the start of an IPO season that looks on track to bring a trillion dollars' worth of companies public," the host said. "These deals will be the big story going forward."
Next week, Cramer is anticipating retail data on Monday and March employment results on Friday. Earnings results from Walgreens WBA , Constellation Brands STZ , and others will come in between those days.
See Cramer's game plan here
Takin' one for the time
Tim Sloan's decision to step down as chief of Wells Fargo WFC hinged in part on a looming congressional committee meeting on banks next month, Cramer said.
The top brass of the big banks will be in Washington, D.C., on April 10 for the House Committee on Financial Services hearing on banks. The committee, headed by Rep. Maxine Waters, would surely focus on Sloan, Cramer said.
"No matter what he said or did, the fact that he served as an executive at Wells Fargo under John Stumpf, now disgraced, meant that as far as Congress is concerned he's guilty until proven guilty," the "Mad Money" host said.
Stumpf was chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo when the embattled bank was fined $190 million after being accused of opening fraudulent accounts without their customers' consent. Sloan, who served more than three decades at the firm in total, succeeded him as CEO in October 2016.
Get Cramer's full thoughts about Sloan's resignation here
A new gig
Hello Alfred is a start-up company looking to "redesign" how people live in cities and open up more time on their schedule, co-founder and CEO Marcel Capone told Cramer. She sat alongside co-founder and COO Jessica Beck.
"We'll do that through a combination of technology. So we have a mobile app, and human help," Capone said. "So we have Alfred home managers who are W2 employees of ours that actually come and help you with all of those things that you don't want to do every week."
Catch the full interview here
Cramer's homework
Cramer dug back to "Mad Money" caller questions from November to share his research and findings on the stocks of enterprise safety provider Everbridge EVBG and office supply retail chain Office Depot ODP .
The host admit that Everbridge is one that got away. The stock is up 50 percent since late November, he said.
Office Depot, on the other hand, is more complicated.
Click here for more
Cramer's lightning round: Dell Technologies could be a 'double buy'
In Cramer's lightning round, he ran through his reactions to callers' stock questions:
Dell Technologies Inc. DELL : "I think so. I thought [CEO] Michael [Dell] told a good tale. I put that in the bullpen for the club. I think that that is one terrific stock, and if it goes down after any of [the action] raising money for IPOs, well you know what, I'm gonna give it a double buy."
AT&T Inc. T : "I think AT&T is fine. I like it's 6.5 percent yield. I think it can go up over time, but it's no Verizon VZ . Verizon is a better-run company."
HealthEquity Inc. HQY : "I don't know, I'm not there. I'd rather see you in Paychex PAYX . I think Paychex does a great job."
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