Mad Money

Cramer: It's not just FANG—here are the other tech stocks that pushed the Nasdaq to new highs

Key Points
  • "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer creates a new acronym to explain how the Nasdaq hit a fresh all-time high on Monday: INJFANG.
  • Cramer also lists some of the non-FANG stocks that contributed to the marketwide rally.
The tech stocks that pushed the Nasdaq to new highs
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The tech stocks that pushed the Nasdaq to new highs

CNBC's Jim Cramer knows all too well that the market can't be driven solely by FANG, his ubiquitous acronym for the stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, now Alphabet.

"On a great day for the bulls where the Dow gained 178 points, the advanced 0.45 percent, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.69 percent to a new all-time high, I think we need a new acronym for tech," the "Mad Money" host said Monday. "FANG's just not cutting it anymore because the gains are no longer limited to [that cohort]."

"If you want to understand the strength in the Nasdaq, you need a new acronym," Cramer continued. "So say hello to INJFANG, as in 'It's Not Just FANG' anymore."

If not FANG, then what?

First, Cramer turned to Apple, one of his favorite consumer products companies. Shares of the iPhone maker hit record highs on Monday as its annual developer conference kicked off.

Apple has long been the target of critics on Wall Street who worried about declining hype around the newest iPhones, supply chain issues and the like.

"But what these critics were missing is that Apple doesn't just have the most loved, best tech for its cellphones, it's got a razor-razorblade business model that can't be beaten," Cramer said. "That means people buy the phone and pay for services directly from Apple or buy some of the developer apps on display today at the big conference and Apple gets a cut of each one."

With a growing revenue stream and a massive cloud backup service that customers don't seem to mind paying for, Apple was a key factor in Monday's rally, Cramer argued.

"Apple's strength — the stock hit its all-time high again today — is exhibit A in the non-FANG romp," he said. "It's kind of amazing that a company with a $943 billion market cap could really rally this hard."

Semiconductor strength

Cramer took note of investors' changing sentiments about the semiconductor space as shares of Nvidia, which makes chips for the data center, artificial intelligence, driverless car, machine learning and video game industries, reached an all-time high.

Chipmakers' stocks had been under pressure since tensions with Chinese regulators stalled acquisition talks between Qualcomm and NXP Semiconductors.

"It took a little bit, but ultimately, the market was able to draw a distinction between chip companies that are pure cellphone plays and the ones that aren't," Cramer explained. "[Nvidia's] last quarter was spectacular, even if the sourpusses on Wall Street sold it off because the irrelevant cryptocurrency biz was soft. Sure didn't take long for the stock to bounce back."

Strategic takeover

Shares of Microsoft also helped take the Nasdaq to new highs after the company announced it would acquire GitHub, a code-building and management platform for software developers.

Microsoft's stock reached a 52-week high on Monday, settling at $101.67 per share. Cramer applauded the company's broad-based strength in personal computers, gaming and the cloud, commending CEO Satya Nadella for his savvy dealmaking.

"Microsoft has run, but I don't get the sense that it's overheating," the "Mad Money" host said. "We have an absence of news right now and absence is making the heart grow fonder for the stock."

Conclusions

Cramer reiterated that Monday's widespread strength in the stock market wouldn't have happened without FANG. The tech giant's stocks still helped; it's just that others reclaimed the spotlight.

"Here's the bottom line: the Nasdaq was left for dead not that long ago, but turns out it was just resting," he concluded. "Will it continue to roar? I think investors like these stocks the same way Willie Sutton liked to rob banks: because that's where the money is."

WATCH: Step aside, FANG — there's a new acronym in town

Cramer: It's not just FANG—here are the other tech stocks that pushed the Nasdaq to new highs
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Cramer: It's not just FANG—here are the other tech stocks that pushed the Nasdaq to new highs

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

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