By Stockpickr Staff
Posted on Nov. 3, 2009

Not a Stockpickr member? Join the community today -- for free.Regardless of why a stock is in the news, it never hurts to hear what a professional investor has to say about it. The key is to gather as much information as you can in order to make the most informed investment decisions you can. As Jim Cramer often reminds, investors must do their homework.

So what has Cramer had to say lately about today's headline-makers? At Stockpickr, we've combed through his recent RealMoney blog posts, "Mad Money" TV show recaps and "Stop Trading!" segments to find out what he thinks about some of today's newsworthy stocks.

Hecla Mining (HL): Hecla surprised in the third quarter with a $22.5 million profit, compared with a $7.2 million loss a year ago. Revenue of $95.2 million surpassed analyst expectations for $68.7 million.

In his Oct. 9 "Lightning Round" segment, Cramer said he didn't like Hecla or any silver stock. "There's no reason to own them," he said.

Nvidia (NVDA): Morgan Stanley downgraded Nvidia to sell from neutral on worries about the company's shift of focus from PCs to mobile devices.

In his Oct. 14 "Lightning Round" segment, Cramer said Nvidia "is at the cusp of a brand-new cycle" and recommended the stock as a buy.

Walgreen (WAG): Same-store sales rose 4.9% at Walgreen in October, in part due to a flu-shot boost. Analysts had been expecting a 4.8% jump.

In his Sept. 29 "Stop Trading!" segment, Cramer said Walgreen and CVS (CVS) were flu-shot plays. According to Cramer, customer traffic doubled with flu-shot recipients, who are prone to impulse purchases.

Ralph Lauren (RL): Ralph Lauren's second-quarter profit rose 10% to $177.5 million, compared with last year's $161 million, while revenue fell 4% to $1.37 billion.

On Sept. 29's "Stop Trading!", Cramer said Ralph Lauren "has been a monster stock since the bottom ... and I believe it will continue to be a monster stock." He called CEO Ralph Lauren "the real deal" and said he never understood why the stock was down in the $60s.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): J&J will cut up to 7% of its workforce worldwide, the company has announced. It also confirmed earnings guidance for full-year 2009 of $4.54 to $4.59 a share, compared with analyst expectations for $4.58 a share.

On "Mad Money" on Oct. 15, Cramer said he'd been excited by J&J's earnings beat at first but had decided to put the stock in his Sell Block because the earnings were due to lowered R&D spending and a favorable tax rate. "That's not how we want to see companies make their numbers," he said.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Chesapeake reported third-quarter earnings of $186 million, or 30 cents a share, down from $3.3 billion, or $5.62 a share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings of 70 cents a share did beat analyst expectations for 65 cents a share.

On Oct. 30's "Mad Money" show, Cramer spoke with Chesapeake CEO and Chairman Aubrey McClendon, who said people aren't aware of how much natural gas is available, due to recent discoveries and spoke of the importance of nat gas as a bridge fuel to the future. Cramer told his viewers that if they think natural gas is headed higher, then Chesapeake's a buy.

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(Editor's note: At the time of publication, Cramer owned Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)