A potentially significant catalyst for Constellation Brands (STZ) stock is just a few weeks away, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday. He suggested it could be more important than the alcoholic beverage company's earnings report, which was out Thursday before the bell.
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Constellation — which in addition to selling Modelo and Corona in the U.S. also has a spirits and wine business — is set to hold an investor day on Nov. 2. It comes a few months after the venerable activist hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a stake in Constellation and struck an information sharing and cooperation agreement with the company. The stock is a holding in the CNBC Investing Club's portfolio.
"Elliott obviously… wants their stock higher," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." Constellation shares were sinking another 3% on Friday. Cramer thought the stock's 3% drop Thursday was unwarranted given the company's strong quarter and guidance boost. The Club upgraded it back to a 1 rating, which means it's viewed as a buy at current levels.
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Elliott has "the ability to suggest things including perhaps maybe getting rid of some of the disappointing spirits business," said Cramer. "Maybe, they have a buyback [program] right now but they didn't use it this quarter."
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Constellation on Thursday reported what Cramer said "was actually a pretty good number" for its fiscal 2024 second-quarter results, beating on both the top and bottom lines. However, there was a bifurcation between its two segments. The beer portfolio led by Modelo saw 11.8% year-over-year sales growth, while its wine-and-spirits division saw a 14% drop in revenue on an annual basis.
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"Don't take that number as the most important one," Cramer said, referring to Constellation's earnings release overall. Instead, he suggested, the investor meeting next month should offer more clues into the company's future investment prospects. The wine-and-spirits division has been a known weak spot for some time now, and Cramer has been advocating that Constellation sell it.
Here's a full list of the stocks in Jim's Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club.
