Jim Cramer stuns with blunt take on soaring AI stock

You wouldn’t normally hear Jim Cramer, of all people, admitting he missed one.

However, on the latest “Mad Money” lightning round, he did exactly that, owning up to whiffing on an AI stock that has killed it this year.

When a caller brought up the popular picks-and-shovels play, Cramer’s reaction was surprisingly raw.

He didn’t spin it, giving just a curt, almost baffling response. When Cramer doesn’t ride a name that’s been ruling the roost this year, that’s news you can ignore.

Also, it indicates just how quickly the AI-infrastructure story is marching along.

Jim Cramer’s take raises eyebrows and could shift how investors look at this high-flying name.

Image source: Noam Galai/Getty Images

Jim Cramer said he missed the move on Astera Labs

In his latest “Mad Money” lightning round, Jim Cramer conceded he dropped the ball on Astera Labs (ALAB) after a caller named Dave asked for his take on the hot AI-connectivity stock.

Cramer’s words were blunt,

“Here’s my thoughts… I feel like an idiot for telling people, not telling people to buy it. I look at it all the time. I turn to my colleague, buddy, pal, friend, Jeff Marks, and say, ‘What was I thinking in Astera Labs?' So I’m upset that I missed it.”

So he’s keeping an eye on Astera, while admitting the stock already sprinted past him. The rest of the segment was typical of what you’d expect from a “Mad Money” lightning round.

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Nonetheless, that comment on a hugely popular AI stock in Astera hit different, and that kind of candor is rare on air.

He also covered PropTech play, Opendoor technologies, which he labels a meme stock, and isn’t looking to “jump on that train.”

For Rigetti, he says quantum is “for real,” while acknowledging that the stock isn’t his favorite among its peers. Cramer said it could potentially deliver a headline “home run,” although he stressed that it’s speculative.

Astera Labs leans into AI infrastructure boom

Astera Labs has carved out a critical niche in the crowded AI space by building the plumbing of modern AI data centers.

It’s essentially making sure that data moves swiftly between different semiconductors, including GPUs, CPUs, memory, and storage.

Astera’s potent products include high-speed PCIe 6.0/CXL chips along with robust Ethernet solutions, helping systems scale a lot more efficiently.

Also, its Scorpio switches are built to efficiently link full racks of powerful AI machines. On top of that, it’s leaning into big ecosystem wins, which include working closely with AI behemoth NVIDIA on NVLink and helping lead AMD’s UALink initiative.

That “connect-everything” role is what separates Astera from the top infrastructure picks in the AI boom.

Astera Labs' latest quarterly results:

Revenue:$191.9 million (150% higher year-over-year, 20% higher quarter-over-quarter); GAAP gross margin 75.8%; non-GAAP EPS $0.44.
Clear beat compared to consensus estimates: EPS $0.44 vs. $0.33, revenue $191.9 million versus $172.5 million; shares surged on the print.
Guidance raised above Wall Street estimates: Q3 revenue $203 million to $210 million and non-GAAP EPS $0.38–0.39, compared with the pre-print consensus near $181 million and $0.34.

it's clear that Astera isn’t looking to become the jack-of-all-trades chipmaker, but it’s focused on solving the data traffic jams that can potentially cripple AI data centers.

That includes everything from speeding things up inside servers (PCIe/CXL) to helping networks scale (Ethernet) while building novel ways to connect GPUs.

Astera Labs stock surges as analysts turn up the heat

Astera Labs turned out to be 2025’s hottest AI infrastructure trades.

For perspective, it’s up almost 38% year-to-date, surging nearly 103% in the past three months alone, while riding a breathtaking post-earnings breakout. Also, shares hit an intraday high near $199.47 on August 13.

Looking at a broader horizon, ALAB has climbed roughly 145% over six months, and a big part of what has moved the needle is its textbook beat-and-raise quarterly showings.

More importantly, the top analysts are taking note.