Cramer says wild speculation has returned to the market — and here's what investors must do

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A wave of speculative buying has crashed over the stock market to start the new year, prompting CNBC’s Jim Cramer to urge investors to take profits in stocks that have gone parabolic.

“You haven’t made a profit unless you ring the register on some of your gains,” Cramer said Tuesday night on “Mad Money.” Those are simply “paper gains. That doesn’t count,” he said.

“Let’s say you have a big gain in a stock that’s soared this year, tomorrow [you should] take something off the table,” Cramer said.

Cramer identified more than 30 U.S.-listed stocks with a market capitalization above $1 billion that had gained at least 50% year to date as of Friday’s close. Stocks that check all those boxes are where investors should look to trim, he said.