Cramer: Major tech stocks may start selling off, but investors should not panic

by · CNBC

Key Points

  • Investors who have major tech stocks in their portfolio should brace for potential selling this earnings season, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Thursday.   
  • "You're going to have to watch the rest of the market catch up a bit to them while they decline in value," the "Mad Money" host predicted.
  • "But at some point, they'll make a comeback, because these are indeed the best companies on Earth," he said.

Investors who have major tech stocks in their portfolio should brace for potential volatility this earnings season, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Thursday.   

"If you want to own these stocks right now, you've got to be willing to take some pain. You're going to have to watch the rest of the market catch up a bit to them while they decline in value," the "Mad Money" host predicted. "But at some point, they'll make a comeback, because these are indeed the best companies on Earth."

Cramer's comments come ahead of a jam-packed earnings schedule next week, with tech giants Apple, Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet all scheduled to report. E-commerce giant Amazon also is set to report. 

All of this will take place against the backdrop of this week's reports from Microsoft and Tesla, which both saw selling pressure after releasing their quarterly numbers, Cramer said. A similar situation ensued for Netflix, he added. 

"All these Big Tech stocks trade together, and when you kick off earnings season with such disappointing action, well, it doesn't bode well for the rest of the group," Cramer said.

But Cramer said long-term investors in these stocks should not be too concerned about any potential selling in these stocks. It just might be that they're coming into the quarter "too hot," he said. Plus, he said, the CEOs of Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook are set to testify before Congress early next week

Wall Street reacted poorly to Netflix's quarter, primarily as a result of the weak guidance for new subscribers, Cramer said. Some analysts raised concerns about Microsoft's Windows forecast, he said, while other people broached concerns about Tesla's revenue from the sale of regulatory carbon-emissions credits to other automakers. 

No matter the qualms that may have contributed to those two stocks experiencing downside pressure, Cramer said he did not believe they rose to the indication of the companies having a fundamental problem. 

"The stock's just got too hot for the moment. The fundamentals had nothing to do with this sell-off," Cramer contended. "Unfortunately, they also had nothing to do with the last 10 to 15 percentage points of upside, which is why [these] names are so vulnerable."  

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet. 

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