“Stop Trading!” Jim Favors YUM and SMG

In his “Stop Trading!” segment on CNBC, Jim Cramer mentioned that Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reminds him of “the housing numbers and is a buzz kill on the start of earnings season.” He feels that the company is managed poorly and traders should dump the stock.

Jim said he is looking for a loss from AA. "People have overestimated Alcoa for three years. It's not a good company. Forget the estimates ... if they don't lose money, I'll be happy ... lower the estimates and maybe you'll have a good story."

Cramer was more generous towards Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and recommended the stock as a China play. Although he showed disinterest in YUM’s latter two businesses, his interest in KFC’s spread across China was apparent. "Yum! brands is good," Jim exclaimed. "They're located cheaply in China ... and I think the estimates are too low," he emphasized.

Cramer also favored Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) for this earnings season. "All you need is fair weather for planting season and there couldn't be more of this here. And that is great for Scotts," he stated.

While reiterating his unfavorable view for Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Cramer noted that Goldman Sachs has added the stock to its highly-respected conviction-buy list.

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