Jim Cramer's Investing Club meeting Friday: Bank woes weigh on market, Caterpillar, Estee Lauder
Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Friday's key moments. Bank volatility weighs on equities Watch Caterpillar Buy Estee Lauder 1. Bank volatility weighs on equities Equities markets Friday were broadly pulled down by banking sector weakness – a result of the ongoing fallout over troubled bank SVB Financial Group (SIVB). Regulators on Friday closed the bank and took control of its deposits in a still evolving story. However, Jim Cramer noted Friday that the Club's bank holdings – Wells Fargo (WFC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) – have not been impacted by the spiraling situation, given they're high-quality financial institutions with minimal credit risk. SIVB, a bank that caters to venture-backed start-ups, has been squeezed by higher interest rates and declining deposits. At the same time, the market on Friday was absorbing the government's nonfarm payrolls report, which showed the U.S. economy added 311,000 jobs in February. The data is expected to be a crucial factor in the how high the Federal Reserve raises interest rates later this month. 2. Stick with Caterpillar UBS downgraded Club holding Caterpillar (CAT) Friday to sell from neutral, as the bank doesn't see "enough cyclical momentum to justify valuation." They also said the construction equipment manufacturer's backlog growth has been decelerating. We couldn't disagree more. Caterpillar may be the biggest beneficiary of this nascent period of prolonged U.S. infrastructure spending , given it makes the equipment needed for large-scale construction projects. Overtime, we expect to see these new projects appear in the company's backlog. Shares of CAT were down 3.75% Friday, at roughly $232 apiece. We're sticking with the stock and reiterate our 1 rating . 3. Buy Estee Lauder We see Ulta Beauty 's (ULTA) strong fiscal-fourth quarter results Thursday as a positive read-through to Club holding Estee Lauder (EL). Growth at the cosmetics firm is poised to explode in China as the country continues to reopen its economy this year. China accounts for about a third of Estee Lauder's total revenue, meaning the luxury beauty company had been weighed down for roughly three years by Beijing's strict zero-Covid policy. Estee Lauder stock fell more than 2% Friday, to around $238 a share, creating a buying opportunity. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long WFC, MS, CAT, EL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) 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.