For several days, post-earnings, we had a renaissance in the middling retailers as analysts completely misjudged the comeback of the non-essential stores. They weren't going under after all. In fact they were surging. So how could you not go long a Kohl's (KSS) or a Macy's (M) , and didn't it make a ton of sense to own the mall and shopping center companies?
But here were are in the midst of the next leg of the most serious outbreak yet and one must wonder, at last, if we are getting to a point where there is such a high percentage of sick people that you have to expect unsuspecting carriers wherever you go. I think it is reasonable to believe that if you go to a restaurant or a mall you will most likely be in a building with people who are on the verge of getting the physical displays of the illness.
The exponential nature at this point may be too overwhelming for even the most brave of souls. Which means, to me, that we are back to the essentials, not as declared by the government -- we are through with that -- but as decided by the people.
I think that it's pretty telling that Amazon (AMZN) is up and United Parcel (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) are down. That's something that says the delivery trucking companies will be overwhelmed by the orders from Amazon.
I am having a hard time trying to figure out why Walmart (WMT) is down. I can only conclude that it shouldn't be and that you should buy it. We have to get over looking at a price like $150 for Walmart and being nostalgic for the days of the $100s where it hung for so long. Those days are over.
(Amazon, UPS, and Walmart are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells these stocks? Learn more now.)
