Use market downturn to upgrade your portfolio with solid, reasonably priced growth stocks, Cramer says

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday said that investors willing to brave the current market should switch out their nonprofitable holdings for stocks that have cheap valuations and better-than-average growth rates.

“I’m not advocating staying in the market, so much as I want you to take some losses and swap into better stocks that can spring back because their losses are just collateral damage. … The ones that can make things, send you back money,” the “Mad Money” host said.

“I say you put some cash to work now in the tangible, growth-at-a-reasonable-price stocks. … As for the former high-fliers, if you still own them, I recommend selling them on a snapback and upgrading your portfolio into something that better fits this difficult moment,” he added.

Stocks plunged on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 1.99% while the Nasdaq Composite fell 4.29%. The S&P 500 dropped 3.2%, sinking below 4,000 for the first time in more than a year.

“When [the markets] take out the last of the leaders … in this case the oil and gas stocks, that usually means we’re much closer to the bottom than the top,” Cramer said.

He added that while there are several kinds of sellers whose activity is currently roiling the market, sell-offs by companies and their shareholders who were forced to let go of their shares bring opportunities for investors to pick up shares of previously expensive stocks for cheap prices. 

“You’ve got to view this as a blessing, not a curse, if you have cash. These forced sellers put pressure on the whole market, so you can take advantage of them to get some terrific bargains. … You can get to your preferred levels much faster thanks to these sellers because they’re creating great value,” he said.

Cramer also warned investors to stay away from speculative stocks and cryptocurrency.