CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday complimented the retail traders who helped spark the massive run up in GameStop shares, but advised they take their profits now.
“Take the home run. Don’t go for the grand slam. Take the home run. You’ve already won. You’ve won the game. You’re done,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.”
“Please don’t lose a lot of money on GameStop,” the “Mad Money” host said. “Don’t let them get hurt. It’s our job” to make sure people know the risk.
Cramer’s comments came as GameStop shares were soaring again Friday, up more than 60% to above $300 apiece. The surge follows the decision by Robinhood to allow its users to more freely trade the stock, one day after the popular brokerage app restricted buying in GameStop and other stocks that had become incredibly volatile during a wave of retail buying and short squeezes fueled by Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum.
GameStop and other affected stocks like AMC Entertainment tanked during Thursday’s session, though it’s worth noting that GameStop has gained 1,500% year-to-date and AMC has increased 475% in 2021.
“Congratulations to them. We all wish people can make as much money,” Cramer said of the retail traders profiting of the stock surges, although he acknowledged he prefers investors doing so through gains in stocks with better fundamentals like Apple and Microsoft.
Cramer said he was concerned about the stability of the rest of the U.S. equity market the longer the frenzied trading continued.
“Nobody wants to do anything that’s commonsensical here and you’ve got these two sides duking it out, and it’s just a tragedy that it’s going on like this,” Cramer said.
“I’m not saying that Reddit is good or bad, or that the shorts are good or bad,” he continued. “I’m just saying that the government has to step in and at least try to address the situation so the rest of the market isn’t panicked by four stocks that are heavily shorted.”