There is a lot of red on the screens today, and I wanted to alert you readers that I would be picking away at 500 shares of Schering-Plough (SGP) this afternoon, if my restrictions allowed. At $18.54, the stock is down about 3% on the session, and at its lowest levels in two months.
I'm surprised that the stock continues to just tread water, as Fred Hassan has been making progress with the company's turnaround strategy with each passing quarter. That said, it also took him a few years to turn Pharmacia around, though the payoff was well worth it! With that in mind, I want to build this position from the current 12,500 shares (6.4% of the portfolio) to 15,000, as my restrictions allow.
Outside of Qualcomm (QCOM) and TD Ameritrade (AMTD) , whose stocks have been disappointing lately even though the fundamentals appear sound, I remain confident about the composition of the portfolio headed into Thursday's FOMC interest rate decision.
I've made back some ground against the benchmark S&P 500 index since the market bottomed out two weeks ago, which is testament to the small purchases we made along the way down. By circling the wagons around names like Foster Wheeler (FWLT) and Network Appliance (NTAP) , we've even already had the chance to trade around some names and book profits.
Of course, you readers don't have my trading restrictions, and are able to exceed my own performance in most cases -- such as the opportunity to purchase Schering-Plough at current levels.
Regards,
James J. Cramer
DISCLOSURE: At the time of publication, Cramer was long SGP, QCOM, AMTD, FWLT and NTAP.
Send email to james.cramer@thestreet.com.