How these 2 portfolio names staved off Tuesday’s software stock rout
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. Stocks were mostly lower Tuesday as investors digested the latest consumer inflation data , big bank earnings , and rising geopolitical tensions overseas. The financials were a big laggard for the second session in a row, with the group struggling to stabilize after President Donald Trump announced a plan to impose a 10% interest rate cap on credit cards. The market also got its first look at fourth-quarter bank earnings as the country’s largest bank, JPMorgan , kicked off the season. Even though JPMorgan’s results were generally better than expected, it turned into a sell-the-news event. This tends to happen when investor expectations get too high, and the group runs hot into earnings. Ironically, the financials were all the talk at the start of 2026 because many bank stocks like JPMorgan continued to hit record highs. Now, it’s the only sector in the negative for the year. Fear of being greedy, however, prompted us to make some sales . On Tuesday, we offloaded shares of Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs . Enterprise software names were under pressure as the market continues to struggle with AI-driven disruption risks. Club holding Salesforce fell about 7% in the afternoon, while ServiceNow tumbled to a new 52-week low. Meanwhile, Adobe shares declined 5% after Oppenheimer downgraded it to a hold-equivalent rating from buy. Tuesday’s move lower extends a rough 2025 performance for the group. The cybersecurity sector is part of the broader software trade, too, but Club names Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike were spared from Tuesday’s selloff. Instead, Palo Alto got a boost after Citi added the stock to the firm’s “analyst focus list.” Analysts say Palo Alto can reach a $200 billion market cap, up from its current valuation of roughly $134 billion. How can it get there? Analysts pointed to continued consolidation of cybersecurity budgets, tailwinds from AI product monetization, and upside from the pending CyberArk acquisition. Citi likes CrowdStrike stock, too. Analysts raised their price target to $610 from $595 and maintained a buy rating on shares. Citi’s CrowdStrike recommendation comes a day after KeyBanc downgraded it to a hold-equivalent rating from buy. Up next: There are no major earnings reports after the closing bell. Wells Fargo, Citigroup , and Bank of America report before Wednesday’s opening bell. On the economic data side, we’ll get December’s producer price index. We’ll also see if the Supreme Court issues a ruling on Trump’s tariffs. (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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