The top semiconductor bellwether has people talking

Goldman Sachs upgraded Micron over the weekend and injected optimism in the semiconductor space — and it has investors talking, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday.

An analyst at the investment bank predicted that excessive memory chip supply will sell off more quickly than once thought and that prices will begin to rebound in the third quarter. Goldman raised its price target on the stock to $56 from $50 and issued a “Buy” call on Micron.

“Micron is perhaps the most important semiconductor bellwether out there: their DRAMs and flash chips go into nearly everything,” the “Mad Money” host said. “This upgrade, which came out yesterday, was the talk of the town in the Hamptons, of all places. I kid you not.”

Micron, which has a $52.1 billion market cap, rallied 3.67% during the session to close above $47 per share. Prior to that, the stock ran up about $12, from about $33 per share, following optimistic outlook during its June earnings report. The rest of the semiconductor sector, including Texas Instruments, which reports earnings Tuesday, also rallied on the news.

With Goldman forecasting that commodity chips are bottoming, semiconductor equipment companies such as Applied Materials and Lam Research saw a boost, Cramer said.

“Makes sense: If you really believe commodity chips are bottoming, then you recommend the capital equipment stocks,” he said.

Cramer said that it would be a “mistake” to buy shares of Apple ahead of its quarterly report next week — despite what Morgan Stanley says.

Morgan Stanley upped its price target on the stock to $247 from $231 Monday, which triggered the stock to rally 2.3% during the session.

“One thing’s for sure after this run, it would be a mistake to buy Apple going into the quarter, unless you get a meaningful pullback beforehand, the host said. “The gulf between the bulls and the bears is just too wide for us to game Apple.”

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Millennials are facing unique hurdles in homebuying, but the generation may have the right mindset for what it means to be a homeowner, Home Depot Chief Financial Officer Carol Tomé told CNBC.

Thirty-three-year-olds made up the largest group of first-time homebuyers in 2018, and they’re buying with investing in mind, she said.

“They’ve told us through our research, ‘We want to work on our house because we think it’s a good investment,'” Tomé said in a one-on-one interview with Cramer. “So that’s music to our ears.”

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In Cramer’s lightning round, the “Mad Money” host zips through his thoughts on callers’ stock picks of the day.

Range Resources: “It’s natural gas, natural gas liquids, and we remain very bearish on that. It’s the weakest part of the entire petro-chain.”

Guardant Health: “Well, you know, it’s a little speculative, but it’s gene-sequencing and I’ve been recommending all those stocks, whether it be Thermo Fisher or whether it be Danaher. “

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Apple, Lam Research and Goldman Sachs.